Omens
by RT4ever
Summary: Alternate ending to season one…If you called something a deathwatch would you go willingly into it? Especially for when the first time in your life you had something to lose? COMPLETE STORY ML
1. Default Chapter

**AN: Okay so I just watched every episode of Dark Angel (Though why I did that I don't know I now miss the show and Michael Weatherly). I started writing this just after the first season ended. I think that's all the explanation it needs. Oh the little transcript start of this is from Eyes Only, the Dark Angel site (Which I am very grateful for, otherwise I would have been pausing and stopping while typing). **

**Reply if you want more…those are the rules…oh and constructive criticism always appreciated. I know I don't have their lingo down, I'm sorry or how to describe their facial expressions, but I'm sure you can imagine them on your own, I can see them, just don't really know what they are.**

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**Chapter One**

_Deathwatch_

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The Space Needle: 

MAX: You okay?  
LOGAN: Sure. This is fun.  
MAX: I look down at the people and I think about how everybody's got problems. Maybe not a secret government agency on their ass, but, you know, problems and if I sit up here long enough I start to feel like I'm just one of those people, a regular girl.  
LOGAN: Well, I hate to break it to you, Max, but...you're never going to be a regular anything.  
(Max steps back and sits down next to Logan.)  
MAX: I know you're not too chill with what's going on tonight and I thank you for keeping your concerns to yourself. It's a bitch psyching yourself up for battle when people are throwing around words like "deathwatch."  
LOGAN: Well, I think I know you well enough by now. There's no stopping you if there's something you need to do especially when it comes to your family.  
MAX: You're my family as much as anyone only we're never going to be any kind of anything if it keeps on like this.  
LOGAN: I know.

They continue sitting there just looking out onto the sleeping city, when Logan turns back to her "Are you aware you just said deathwatch?"

Max gives a short laugh, "Did that freak you out?"

He smiles, "Just a little, I'm used to Super Max, you know Maximum Force, Maximum Girl." They both smile brighter, thinking of Phil who made it possible for Logan to be sitting next to Max, hoping not to pass out.

"I'm sorry, how about this'll be a breeze?"

"Much better," he says smiling once more and turning back to the city.


	2. Prophecy

**Chapter Two **

_Prophecy _

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The drive back to the warehouse was filled with silence, silence and the booming sound of Max's heart beating a hundred miles an hour. She sat in the car trying to figure out if it was from Logan holding her hand as he drove, anticipation for the mission or the fear that this would be their last drive, this would be the last time she would see these streets. The sound of the crow started to echo in her mind, drumming out the sound of her heart.

Time seemed to fall into slow motion, she turned her head from watching the street and the stores passing her by and turned to look at Logan, his head resembling that of a hedgehog, yet he was still the cutest hedgehog she had ever seen. His eyes focused on the road, his glasses suddenly lighting up from a streetlamp hitting them. He turned and she felt his fingers slightly tighten over hers and he smiled at her before turning back to the road.

She realized something in that moment with a clarity and intensity she would have never imagined; it was second only to the time she found Vertes file suggesting Logan would commit suicide.

_She didn't want to give this up, not yet. _

She'd been out of Manticore for eleven years, but it seemed like it only this year that she started living. She knew she owed that to Logan; it wasn't just that she had fallen in love; it was that she was finally able to trust people. She was finally allowing herself to be happy and free.

That's what she was thinking as they were loading the final things into the van back at the warehouse. _'I'm not ready to give this up', _she thought as hers and Logan's eyes connected and he smiled at her before he turned back to the screen. "I can't do this," she whispered.

"What Maxie?" Zack asked walking up to her, causing Logan's head to turn around, apparently he hadn't heard her.

"I can't do this," she said it stronger this time.

"Look Max I know you're scared, we all are."

That frightened Max even more than the crow, _Zack was scared?_ "I'm not ready to die." She looked away from Zack to Logan, who was looking at her as if he was fighting back tears.

He swallowed deeply, he was scared too, _scared of losing her and losing the best part of himself all in a night. _

"Max what kind of a soldier are you? You want to let them win because of a guy?" His eyes darkened as he glared at Logan, but Logan's eyes never backed down despite the intimidation. "You just said you were sick of running!"

"I am sick of running. I just have this feeling in my gut that if we go there tonight…" She got too choked up to finish, she couldn't say the words.

"If we go there what Max?" Krit asked

"If we go there, we aren't all coming back." She shook her head as she too fought back the tears, she didn't want them to see her so weak.

"Max, you're being ridiculous, you're scared because of a crow, how many times have you seen a crow before and nothing's happened. Just because it happened once…" He shook his head and groaned, he hadn't even wanted to do this in the first place, but they had talked him into it with all of their words of finally being free.

"Max, he's got a point." Syl added

"I know he does…It's just this feeling in my gut. I've barely lived my life. I know we'll still be on the run, hell they'll probably even be closer to catching us or at least me because of this thing in my neck. I'm just not ready for it today."

Zack turned to Lydecker, "Aren't you going to say anything about this? This was your plan!"

"I raised you kids to have good instincts, to know when to stay and fight and when to run. How often has that failed you, Zack? How often has that failed any of you?"

The silence grew even louder as they all thought about the times they went against their instincts and barely came out alive.

"Even if we went ahead with this mission, just the fact that Max is thinking that something is going to go wrong is going to increase the odds of something actually happening."

Zack tried to butt in, "But-"

"But nothing Zack, I want this, I want this as much as you guys. Renfro is going to destroy this entire project, we may never get another chance to stop her from doing anymore damage, but you're more than soldiers now, this doesn't have to be your fight, at least today it doesn't."

It took a lot of effort on Max's part to not allow her jaw to drop when Lydecker not only gave his approval for her being weak and scared, but acknowledged them as something besides soldiers.

"Okay great," Zack said once more facing Max accusingly, "we're going to just let them get away with killing Tinga."

Max's voice softened, "Zack she wouldn't want us to die just because she did. She had a life Zack, she had the life we've been afraid of living. For six years she got to be a normal girl, I want my chance too Zack. This fight is far from over, but it's not happening tonight." Her eyes left her brother's and went to Logan's, he smiled at her and she knew without a doubt she had made the right decision.


	3. Inspiration

**Chapter Three **

_Inspiration _

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Max had her feet curled up underneath her on Logan's couch, staring out into the night, forgetting to even sip the tea he had given her almost a half hour ago.

"Explain to me why I went through the effort of making that?" Logan asked pausing in the doorway to just watch her, thankful that no matter what tomorrow might bring they had another night together. _He had a feeling he was going to feel that way often._

She smiled and leaned forward to put her cup on the table before stretching out on the sofa. "Sorry busy thinking."

"Zack, the mission or Lydecker?"

Max frowned at the mention of Lydecker's name and realized she wanted to talk more to Logan about what Lydecker had said while waiting outside the strip club, instead of the two seconds worth of talk on the way to the Needle. "So I was inspired by with wife…How freaky is that?"

"Decently freaky," he answered lifting her legs up and sitting down on the couch before allowing them to fall back down. "What exactly did he mean by inspired?"

"I don't know," her head tilted as it often did while she was thinking, "he said I have her eyes."

"What did he mean by having her eyes? Did they take that part of her DNA or did they actually manipulate your DNA to have the same look?"

Max frowned, she didn't like having to think about this, this was worse than thinking about how she walked away from her chance at true freedom. "I don't know."

Logan thought about it for a moment, "The first one is probably more plausible, it seems to be what they do best, take little bits out of things they like."

Another frown, "I know. It's pretty disgusting to think that little section of me, the last time it was in use it was looking at him adoringly." She groaned, "And you should have seen the way he looked at me when he said that."

"Why was it the way I look at you?" He joked with that goofy smile of his.

She couldn't help but smile back, she wondered if…_no be realistic Max, when this was going to stop being new and wonderful_, she was a realist, she wasn't going to let falling in love change that. She laughed a bit, "Not quite"

"So what was it like?" He asked running a finger down her arch.

She squirmed a bit "Stop that...Umm I don't know what it was like. I think it was freaky because he reminded me how he stayed with me once when I was sick."

Logan looked puzzled.

"I was little, probably around 7, maybe 8. I know it was a bit before we escaped, I'm not sure how long though, time could get kinda blurry in a place like that." Her voice softened as he mind wandered back, "I was sick, I don't know with what, I collapsed during drills and I remember lying on the bed with a doctor standing next to me and seeing Lydecker come rushing through those doors…You know I think I've spent the past decade trying to forget that night and he remembered it so vividly."

"Why were you trying to forget about it?"

She paused for a moment, she had never said these words aloud, she'd barely even allowed her consciousness to allow them to bubble up occasionally from her subconscious, "It looked like love, like concern that something was wrong with someone you loved. It wasn't though, it was concern that something had happened to his project because that's all we ever were."

"I don't know, you are his favorite."

She glared at him, "How'd you know that?"

"Okay aside from the fact that he could have very easily pushed you into going tonight?"

"He couldn't have pushed me into anything?"

"Yea right…It's just how he looks at you, how he treats you…"

"God he wasn't looking at me like I was his wife was he?"

"No, not at all," Logan shook his head, "You know how he calls you guys his kids?"

Max nodded

"You can see it a bit when he looks at everyone else, you can see the concern. I mean the guy honestly does think he knows what's best for you, but Max, with you…It's like he wants to protect you." He looked out onto the living room, thinking of how Lydecker acted today. Nothing like the man he had talked to when Ben was on the loose, not at all like how Max described him.

"Oh god"

"What?" he asked turning back

"When we were in the motel, right before I woke up, he said that he wished he could take me away from all this, where they couldn't do anything to me."

Logan's brow furrowed, "He said that before you woke up?"

Max groaned and smiled, "You know that kinda dreamy/just been zapped with dozens of tasers kind of state, it was also when he talked about me being sick." She shook it off, "You know it's just because I've got her eyes. I'm sure a cat lover would treat me better than he did."

"Hmm"

"Hmm what?"

"Nothing just hmm."

She could tell he was lying, some days he was good at it, this was not one of those days. " Logan think of where my feet are…You've seen me kick threw walls."

"Easy there Maximum Girl."

"You're really amused by that possible alter ego today aren't you?" she asked with a nod.

"Just slightly."

"So what were you thinking?"

"Two things, one is Lydecker's unusual attachment to you being attributed to his late wife, his murdered in an unknown way late wife."

"That was only one," she pointed out when she realized he had stopped talking

"I know; I combined them."

"So weird attachment to me and dead wife. We never bothered to find out how she died?"

"We?" Logan raised an eyebrow

"I get shot at, you do computer work. We're a team."

"Hello, I get shot too; I just get hit when you manage to evade them."

She grimaced a little, "Sorry"

"No problem, you've got a very well adjusted Logan, well at least until this thing stops working." He poked at the exoskeleton.

Max lifted her legs off of Logan and adjusted them underneath her, she leaned forward, "Speaking of that thing working, didn't Zack interrupt something yesterday?"

"You know I do seem to recall that vaguely. You sure that was only yesterday?"

"It was…Now let me refresh your memory," she said with her first true smile of the day and proceeded to do just that.


	4. Natural

**Chapter Four **

_Natural _

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Max stared out onto the city. Trying to stay focused on what had happened when they came home last night and not the fact that Lydecker was out there with Renfo gunning for him. He was a damn arrogant fool just like Logan, thinking he could do everything on his own. _'Oh gross', _she thought to herself, '_I just compared Lydecker to _ _Logan__, this is that whole you fall in love with your father psychology bs. Luckily _ _Logan__ knows there's no point in saving the world if you're going to make little kids suffer.'_

"Do you ever sleep?" Logan asked rolling into the room, lookin pretty darn cute in a pair of gray sweatpants, no glasses and his hair all mussed… _Boom there was the last night she had been trying to focus on…God she had loved mussing that hair. _

She smiled, "I slept for almost four hours. Honest to god it's like a record."

She realized she was having trouble catching her breath by the way he was looking at her, she was right, that definitely wasn't the look Lydecker gave her. "Did I wake you? I've been quiet right?"

"I heard the shower awhile ago…Thought about getting up, but realized there was a good chance I might electrocute us if I joined you."

She smiled "There are always baths…You know the bubbly candlelit kind."

Logan smiled and shook his head; _no one had ever affected him like this, _"You're now aware the moment you leave for work I'm scouring this city for bubble bath, even if I have to barter the Ansel Adams for it."

She laughed, "So why are you up so early, you had a late night if I recall correctly?"

Another incredibly cute smile, "You do remember correctly…It's the smell of coffee…Honest to god you should have tried that when I was in the hospital, screw the transgenic blood, just pour some Italian roast into the IV."

"Can I just share with you the fact that I completely love the fact that I have never come into this apartment and there has not been coffee in the cupboard, I mean real coffee." She followed him towards the kitchen.

"Yea that fake stuff's pretty bad. Hmm, you know I really didn't think about coffee when destroying Cale Industries."

"If it ever gets so bad you can't get coffee I can always break into the Columbian Embassy."

"You know a day without coffee and I would probably be okay with that."

Max laughed following him into the kitchen.

"Did you eat yet?" he asked as he poured himself a cup

"Yea because I'm gonna make myself food when I have you here to do it for me."

"So is this why you're with me? My kitchen?"

She gave a sly smile, "It was…Until last night that is…Realized you had some other pretty decent talents besides those in the kitchen."

He smiled and caught her hand "Come down here."

She bent over to his level and kissed him, "I've got work in an hour"

"You're gonna be late."


	5. Pod People

**Chapter Five **

_Pod People _

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Jam Pony:

"Okay if you don't stop smiling people are going to start to think you're on something" Original Cindy said putting her things into her locker.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Max said still grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Max, you've been late every morning, but you've gotten all your packages out in record time and you haven't snapped at Normal once. Seriously Sketch suggested you were a pod person. We're not even going to discuss the fact that I miss you."

"I'm sorry." That final comment seemed to make the smile fall off of Max's face, "I can stay home tonight if you want."

Original Cindy immediately felt horrible for making Max feel bad, "No girl, Original Cindy's just playin' with you. When are you going to make it official and just move your things in with him and I can have that beautiful mansion all to myself."

Max's joy returned as she laughed "A week Cindy, we've been together a week. I know, I know a week in one of your relationships you'd be moved in together and be making plans for your tenth anniversary."

"Umm girl I hate to burst your bubble, you and Logan just celebrated your first anniversary in a rather big way."

"That was the friendship part, this is the…" Max looked at Cindy stumped.

"This is the part leading up to you getting the ring, you've seen the way that boy looks at you."

"Logan and I are not getting married."

"Why not?"

"He's Logan Cale, which used to be one of the best families in the US and I'm…" Max didn't risk saying the words 'I'm genetically spliced human who was made to kill.'

"You're beautiful and perfect and the love of that boy's life anyway he's poor now, you don't have to suffer through anymore of those society weddings."

Max made a face, "You would think that right? Yet we have another one next month."

"We? You guys have another wedding?"

A grin spread across Max's face so wide that Cindy was lucky she wasn't blinded, "My name was on the invitation…Logan Cale and Max Guevara."

Cindy's mouth fell, "You've been together a week."

"Apparently after the first wedding everyone assumed we were together." Max tried to hide her smile, her excitement that threatened to bubble up at every moment. _She wasn't supposed to feel like this, she was supposed to feel caged; she was supposed to want to run._ Something had happened though, she felt like she'd almost lost everything last Thursday, she felt like she'd escaped death and she couldn't take this for granted. Tinga had given her life for this; she wasn't going to run away from this gift.

"Oh Sug, you are in. Your name on the invite means they accept you and they're waiting to get one for yours."

"So are you ladies planning on working at all today? Max why didn't you just come in a half hour late like normal, then maybe I'd at least be getting some work out of this one?"

Max just smiled as she took the package out of Normal's hand and walked away, "I'll talk to you later," she yelled over her shoulder.

"She's dying isn't she?" Normal said making a face

Original Cindy turned and shook her head, "Nope our little boo's just grown up." She sighed as she shut the locker door.

"Sector 6" Normal said handing her the package as she walked by.


	6. Grief

**Chapter Six **

_Grief _

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Later that day:

"Mmm" Max said walking into the apartment smelling the air "A girl could get used to this, what's for dinner?"

"Okay seriously started to feel used for my culinary abilities." Logan said walking out.

She smiled walking towards him, "Will dinner keep?" she asked lifting herself up to reach his mouth.

He wrapped his arms around her, "I don't care if it doesn't" and pulled her closer.

-o-o-o-

Max sat on the counter eating slightly dried out leftovers. It was four am and like normal Logan was asleep while she paced the apartment looking for something to do and his fridge always seemed to have the biggest draw around this time. She normally stayed in his arms for part of the night, just resting, but not sleeping, she liked hearing that slight snore that came and went, which she was now be able to predict rather well.

Tonight she was restless though…Maybe it had been talking to Cindy, maybe it had been that invitation yesterday…Or maybe it was the reason she wanted to forget, a week ago around this time she had been holding her sister dead in her arms and the person who did that, the person who not only took Tinga away from her, but took Tinga away from Case and Charlie forever was still out there waiting to hurt her and her siblings.

She put down the bowl and hopped off the counter and padded over to Logan's desk where the invitation lay. Logan Cale and Max Guevara, she traced the ink with her finger and thought about what Cindy said about their wedding being the next wedding.

She suddenly dropped the envelope down, _she couldn't deal with this._ She turned and was facing Logan who was standing before her. "What's wrong?" he asked taking one look at her face.

"Why are you up and dressed?" she asked looking at him standing in gray sweats and a tee shirt.

"I heard you moving around and I wasn't really tired, I figured we could go out, shoot pool or something."

"Oh" Max looked down at herself, dressed just in Logan's robe, her normal wear for this time of the day. "I'll go change."

He extended an arm, effectively stopping her as she tried to walk past, "Max, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she said with a shake of her head

He looked at the envelope on the table, "Is it the…" but then it hit him, "Tinga"

Max nodded "I promised Case I'd bring his Mommy home and what did I do…" She walked away, into the living room stopping as she reached the windows and shook her head, "I let them kill her Logan…I let them kill my sister and get away with it."

He wrapped his arms around her, she could see their reflections together in the window and it made her heartache worse, "They're going to be punished Max, I don't want you to doubt that for a second, but we've got to be smart about this. It isn't worth getting you killed or Zack or anyone else to get back at them, she wouldn't want that. She'd want you to be happy Max; she'd want you to have what she had."

"Why so there's someone there to grieve for me? Like Charlie's doing for Tinga?"

His arms tightened, "Don't say things like that"

"Why not?" She turned, " Logan, you don't understand that's the best case scenario, what happens if something happens to you because of me?"

He pushed away the thoughts of losing her like Charlie had lost her sister and focused on her, "Okay Max what happened around a year ago this time?"

Max just looked at him

"You wheeled me out my hospital room as Bruno fire bombed it. And who jumped off a hotel roof?"

"Yea well the hotel you wouldn't have been involved in if it wasn't for me."

"Remember that Hover drone shooting at me? Remember getting yourself arrested and almost sent back to Manticore."

Max cut him off, "Okay stop trying to make your point, it's getting annoying and kinda scary, you don't have good luck."

"No," he put a finger under her chin and tilted her head up to face him, "I have the best luck because you broke into this apartment out of all of the other ones in this building. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

She shook her head, "I'm scared for when this ends."

"Who said this is going to end?"

"Everything good always ends."

"No it doesn't. This," he gestured between them, "You and me, Max I've been waiting my whole life for this. I knew it the moment I saw you. I knew everything I had thought about love, hell even life was a lie. The moment I saw this face," he raised a hand to touch her cheek as he had so long ago as he was trying to inspire her to help him "Max, I knew this face was a sign my life was changing completely."

"Yea, you got shot and ended up in a chair."

"No Max, I fell in love, I found something that mattered more than ending corruption. I found out the physical means nothing. My legs are gone Max and I've never felt more alive."

"Your legs don't count as gone if you're still walking," she said hitting him.

He laughed.

"And you're an asshole without them. So shut up on that point."

"Hey I'm a guy, it's not my fault."

"Thank you," she said leaning into his chest.

"For what?"

"For making me feel better, for always being here. I don't know what I'd do without you Logan."

"You're never going to have to find out."

-o-o-o-

_Everything was in fragments. _ _Logan__ was calling her. She couldn't see him though. She could hear him screaming her name. The crow came and its cry deafened her so she couldn't hear _ _Logan__ anymore. Tinga was there holding Case, "Hold really tight to mommy now." The crow cried again. Logan's perfect face ashen and still, the doctor's voice, "I'm sorry. There's nothing we can do." Tinga dead behind the glass…Charlie's voice, "I love you." _

_Logan__ was calling her name again. His voice and the crow's on top of each other. She screamed for him…Running…Screaming. All there was the crow and his voice was gone. Just hers left alone crying for him. _

"Hey," he said shaking her, "Max come on wake up."

" Logan," she cried as she opened her eyes to see his.

"You were having a nightmare." He said wrapping his arms around her "You kept calling my name"

"I couldn't find you." She hugged him back

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere Max."

She stopped hugging him and raised her hands to the back of his head and kissed him…She needed to feel him, she had to drive away the dream, she couldn't bear to lose him, she couldn't survive it.


	7. A neglected friendship

**Chapter Seven **

_A Neglected Friendship _

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_The Following Week: _

"I've been neglecting my girl," Max said from her spot on the counter, where she sat holding a cup of coffee watching Logan make her an omelet.

"You mean Original Cindy?" he asked sliding it onto a plate.

"Do I have another girl?" she asked hopping off the counter to take the plate waiting in his outstretched hand.

"Well what about Kendra?" He said moving over to the fridge to grab the milk and placed it on his lap along with the waiting bowl of waiting dry cereal.

Max made a face, "I can't believe you're eating that, when you could be eating this." She inhaled the scent of Swiss combined with ham.

Logan almost rolled his eyes, "Not all of us eat like you Max. Now what about Kendra?" he said putting his bowl on the table and pouring the milk.

Another face, one of true disgust, "She and Walter…Ugh god the point is she's in her own little world."

Logan laughed, agreeing with what Max was thinking, but hey to each their own. "Mr. Multiples is still going strong I see."

"Ugh" she pushed away her plate, "That is just disgusting, it is 8 am, how could you bring up such a nasty mental image. I didn't feel clean for days after I found out he was Mr. Multiples," she shook her head and pulled back her plate, "and in my apartment too."

He laughed, "So you're gonna hang with Original Cindy tonight?"

"Yea figured I'd actually go home after work," she paused for a moment thinking and then pouted.

"What?"

"Thinking of that crappy shower, I'm just going to Crash dirty."

He laughed, "You're spoiled. Hot food, hot water."

She grinned, "Hot sex"

He gave a cute little smile, "That too."

"So you know," she moved around her food with her fork, "you could come meet me at Crash, ply me booze and take advantage of me."

He shook his head, "No one has ever taken advantage of you, Max."

She grinned, "So what do you say?"

He pretended to think about it for a moment, not like he'd accomplish anything without her here, "What time?"

"Around 10?"

He nodded, "I'll be there."

-o-o-o-

"Okay so tell me about the sex." Original Cindy said dropping onto the sofa with Max

Max's smile suddenly turned shy, "Original Cindy," she scolded

"Oh hunny, you know you wanna spill."

"It's um…Nice," she nodded all while fighting her smile.

"Oh, you got it bad."

"You were the one who told me to step to the real weren't you?"

"I just didn't expect this overnight change. What happened to my little party girl? Revved up super girl, always running away from a commitment? You've gone all June Cleaver on me. Stay home every night, can't even talk about the funny things he does in bed."

Max frowned, "Logan does nothing funny in bed…Okay he does this little tiny half snore every once in awhile, but it's cute not funny."

Cindy's eyes widened and her lower lip fell down "Max, you just said a snore was cute."

She shook her head and defended herself, "It's not really a snore, it's like this loud breathing and it doesn't really happen too often."

"You cuddle with him don't you."

Max turned away, _how many times had she'd told Original Cindy that she didn't want to be touched while she slept, they'd had sex, they'd touched, the man needed to move on_. "Shut up."

Original Cindy laughed, "Wow that must have been one hell of a belated anniversary."

Max froze; she stopped laughing as she remembered what happened, her and Logan and then Zack, Tinga, Lydecker and then the crow.

"What'd I say?"

Max opened her mouth to speak, but then stopped; the words were frozen in her throat.

"Max, just spit it out, what happened?"

"My sister died that night, she was murdered."

Original Cindy waited a moment for the punch line, but quickly realized none was coming, "Oh my god boo," she pulled her into her arms, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to talk about it; I don't want to think about it. She had a husband and a son…"

"Was it that Lydecker bastard you told me about?"

Max laughed, she couldn't help it, for once Donald Lydecker wasn't the bad guy, "No but he did kidnap me and tried to put a bullet in my brain."

Original Cindy pulled back and looked down at Max, "All this happened on your anniversary?"

Max nodded, "It was a tough day."

"Want to talk to me about it?"

Max shook her head, "There isn't really much to say. Lydecker's replacement killed my sister, he was going to pull a murder/suicide because he didn't want me to fall into enemy hands, next thing I know we're about to break into Manticore and trash their DNA lab so Manticore would be shut down."

"You shut Manticore down?"

Max shook her head, "I couldn't go…I just had this feeling like if I went, I wasn't coming back."

Cindy pulled her close again, not wanting to imagine what it would have been like to lose her sister girl. "You always follow your gut girl," she ordered.

"I did and look at me all June Cleaver because of it."

They both laughed and let the sadness fall away.


	8. Déjà vu

Okay there's still a reader for this story so it gets an update. Here it goes...

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**Chapter Eight **

_Déjà Vu _

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"Hey Max isn't that your Sugar Daddy?" Sketch called out.

Max turned to see Logan walking towards her, she'd been here before…

Logan was walking towards her in a brown leather coat, a white button down, chinos and heavy brown boots. All color drained from her face.

_"So, this guy walks into the bar and says…" _

_"We didn't get a chance to finish our conversation the other night" _

"Hey are you alright?" he asked placing his hand on her arm

"New coat?" she nodded, amazed she could get the words out of her dry throat.

"No I got it a few weeks back, it's spring, can't keep walking around in black. You sure you're okay?" he asked tilting her head up to look him in the eye.

She shook her head, "Yea it's just-"

"Holy shit," Original Cindy cut her off walking up to them, eying Logan's vertical position, "Max I knew you were good, but not that good."

Logan gave a half smile/half smirk, "I think it would be the other way around, if she managed to put me in the chair."

"I've gotta go," Max said pushing her way past them.

"What'd I say?" Original Cindy asked as they both watched in shock as Max ran up the stairs.

-o-o-o-

"Hey," he found her outside, slumped up against the building, "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, "Just bad memories."

He walked closer and took her in his arms, "Tinga?"

She shook her head and looked up at him through eyes that had become glassy, "You."

"You have bad memories involving me?" he softly teased

"Last time I saw you in Crash, you walked towards me in almost the exact same outfit. Your boots were lighter though, tan instead of brown and your shirt was more of a tee-shirt and it only buttoned at the top."

He looked down even though he couldn't see his outfit and inwardly groaned, he hadn't even remembered what he'd been wearing that day and now he felt incredibly guilty because of it, he tried to soothe her, "Hey did seeing me again really turn out so bad?"

"You're only walking now because of the exo."

"Max, me being paralyzed is my own stupid fault, not yours, never yours. You know that."

"I let you down," her old insecurities had reared their ugly head.

"You didn't even know me," he looked down. "Max this year and knowing you," he shook his head looking for the words, "I wouldn't change anything about it. It's what got us here."

"I hate feeling so weak," she admitted out of the blue.

He pulled her in tight again, "It's okay to be weak sometimes. You've got me and you've got your friends to watch your back."

"We should probably go back in," she said brushing away her tears.

He nodded and started to follow her, being led by her hand, he suddenly stopped and she jerked back and turned to face him. "You're not going to lose any of us Max. Me, Original Cindy, hell even Zack…We're not going anywhere," he said knowing what it was that made her weak, her love for them.

"Zack hates me," she said with a shake of her head.

Logan laughed, "Zack definitely doesn't hate you," he shook his head, "His problem is he loves you a little too much. I'm never going to let you go though, even though he could probably kill me with a flick of his thumb."

"Don't worry," she said with a smile, "I took him once to get back to you. I'll take him again to keep you safe."

He looked down at her perplexed.

"No one was going to keep me from you when you were in the hospital. So I had to put Zack in his place."

"Remind me to stay on your good side," he grinned. "So do I still get to ply you with booze and take advantage of you?"

"Oh booze is definitely the game plan for tonight," she laughed.


	9. The Clarity of Day

**Chapter Nine **

_The Clarity of Day _

_

* * *

_

"Ugh," Max groaned and rolled away from the sunlight beating down on her.

Logan laughed as he turned from opening the drapes, "Manticore didn't make you immune from a hangover?"

"Apparently not," she said sitting up slowly.

"So does this mean you're not hungry?"

She gave a sarcastic chuckle, _how long had this man known her? _

He laughed too, "That was probably a stupid question."

She nodded, "Ugh," she wasn't really hung over, just feeling rather yucky. She opened her dry mouth and partially stuck out her tongue, "My mouth feels nasty."

He shook his head as he laughed again, "Yea you're not getting a good morning kiss until you brush your teeth. I'm gonna go start breakfast. How about pancakes?"

"Mmmm," she murmered with a dreamy smile

"Pancakes it is."

-o-o-o-

Max Voiceover in the shower-

Last night was weird; I had two separate breakdowns all within a night. It used to be I never cried right? Then again I never cared, that's probably the difference now. Poor Logan, he's stuck with a basket case for a girlfriend.

I used to be stable right? I used to not break down when I chipped a nail, okay maybe that's an understatement, but when Zack's helicopter when down, I was fine…

Maybe it's different because it's for real, there's no doubt, I held Tinga's lifeless body in my arms. Still I don't think this is what Logan was expecting a few weeks ago as I told him I loved him.

_They were alone in the warehouse; they'd just watched the others leave. Logan and Zack had stopped just short of trading blows because of how Zack had been treating Max. _

_She couldn't help but smile at _ _Logan__'s defense of her, she always made such a big deal about not needing a protector, but she had to admit part of her liked it. It wasn't that he doubted she could take care of herself; it was that he wanted to take care of her; he wanted to save her from pain, make things easier for her. She turned and smiled as they were finally alone, "Have I told you how much I love you?" _

_He laughed, "Why because I just threatened a guy who could kill me with a single blow?" _

_She laughed, "Yea, that certainly is part of it," she paused for a moment and realized she might as well have the guts to do this now, "I love you for a lot more than that _ _Logan__." _

_He turned to face her, his face showing his uncertainty. _

_"I just kinda love you. I mean like love you, love you." The words kept tumbling out of her mouth, "Really love you." _

_He let out an uneasy laugh, her whole little jumble of words was too funny to not laugh a little, "Love me like a friend or-" _

_She did a combination of a nod and a shake of her head as she tried to get the words across, "I'm in love with you. Like really in love with you." _

_He smiled and laughed, and cupped the back of her head and pulled her in close to him, he kissed her and whispered, "You sure?" _

_"Logan if this isn't love, then I don't think I could survive the real thing." _

_He laughed, "Is it that bad?" _

_"It's a little intense," she admitted. _

_"Would it make you feel better to know you're not alone?" he asked softly. _

_She nodded _

_"I think I've been in love with you since the moment I saw you Max. I can't believe you love me though." He shook his head as if to prove his point. _

_"Yea kinda surprised me too…Original Cindy had to beat it into my head…This whole love/caring thing kinda new to me. Kinda really scary. The thought of ever leaving you, of you ever leaving me…" _

_"It's not gonna happen, don't worry. It's taken us a year to get to this point; I'm not going to let anything separate us." _

_"Look at you doing the whole macho male thing again," she said smiling once more. _

_He smiled again and kissed her. _

"Max" he knocked on the door before he walked into the bathroom. "Did you drown in the shower?"

She smiled to herself as she turned off the water and grabbed the towel she had waiting just outside the shower, she pulled back the curtain.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

She nodded, "A lot less grimy. How much did I drink last night?" she asked slightly puzzled.

"A lot"

She shook her head, trying to remember the full details of the night before. She had already been drinking when Logan showed up and she had her second breakdown of the night…She'd also woken up in the tank she'd gone out in and underwear, so she must have just passed out when they'd gotten home. "Sorry I got too drunk for you to take advantage of me," she said with a joking smile

He just smiled back

"Ugh," she groaned and briefly closed her eyes, in response to his smile, "I made out with you at the bar didn't I?"

"I'm pretty sure that's going to be all you hear about on Monday," he was still grinning.

"Ugh," she groaned again and looked up in embarrassment, "I barely even do that when I'm in heat," she said without thinking.

He didn't show any discomfort when she said 'heat' and she knew he really had forgiven her, "Then I guess I should feel pretty special." he kept it light

She smiled up at him and shook her head, "You are pretty special. Now how about we get me drunk on syrup and we try that whole taking advantage thing again?"

"We could always go straight to the taking advantage part and go back to the pancakes later," he suggested.

She raised her eyes up to meet his and gave him a look.

"Or not," he laughed.


	10. Your Eyes

**Chapter Ten **

_Your Eyes _

_

* * *

_

Midweek:

"You know one might think that you would be out enjoying those newfound legs of yours instead of sitting behind your computer," she said coming in from work.

He smiled; _it was the type of smile that made her worry_, "Remember how we talked about going to the country?"

"You mean the dizzying heights you made me forgo for Cape Haven?"

"We did good in Cape Haven," he defended.

"We almost died. Now is this a trip to the country for dizzying heights or an Eyes Only thing?"

"Not really an Eyes Only thing…Your eyes thing."

Max leaned against the desk, "You found out about Lydecker's wife?"

"So far all I've got is Julia Christine Matthews Lydecker. Year of birth same as Lydecker's."

"1968?"

He nodded, not even bothering to acknowledge she remembered, for Max it wasn't an accomplishment "Married same month he joined the army." He looked down at the print out and then back up at Max, "This part's pretty interesting, considering it wasn't in Lydecker's army file, 1987 they had a kid."

"You're kidding?"

He shook his head, "Matthew Donald Lydecker, born January 15th 1987."

"She was pregnant in high school?"

"Looks that way."

"What happened to him?"

"Died December 19th 1992."

"Less than a month away from his 6th birthday," Max's voice was barely a whisper. "What happened?"

"Genetic disorder. Came from Lydecker's side."

"He wasn't kidding about not wanting to pollute our gene pool. Did we find out how she died?"

"All I have is unknown assailant broke into their summer cabin on July 8th 1995. He came home to find her dead."

"No leads?"

"Oh now see this is were it gets kinda good, she was involved in manipulating genes to prevent illness. It was highly top secret then, everyone thought she was doing normal drug research."

"So what, you think Lydecker was working for the people who killed his wife? That he killed her?"

"Well I don't think he killed her, I don't think he had any idea what she was doing at work, in fact I think what she was doing back then was illegal or at least the FDA wasn't aware of what was going on. Not the kind of thing you tell the all American boy."

Max groaned, "Why did you just describe Lydecker as the All-American Boy?"

"Came from a military family as far back as I can trace, every living male served and rose through the ranks quickly. Was QB for his high school football team, course they weren't anything to talk about. Married his high school sweetheart, had son partly named after him, was awarded every type of medal given to the living, his record was spotless."

"Until the year after she died?"

He nodded

"How did you find all this out?"

"May 31st, one day before the pulse an exposé came out by this guy Milton Bradford, uncovered all of Kleinfold's dirty little secrets."

"But then the pulse hit and everything was chaos."

Logan nodded, " Milford also only lived for 5 days after the pulse, his death was blamed on the looting and rioting."

Max suddenly smiled, "This is so totally an Eyes Only thing underneath it all."

Logan tried to remain straight faced, "It may turn out to be something Eyes Only would like to expose, but, first and foremost it's about getting answers."

"Answers about what?"

"Whose eyes you have."


	11. Love Is Blind

**Chapter Eleven **

_Love is Blind _

_

* * *

_

"You know he thought she was perfect," Max said across the dinner table.

Logan looked up confused

"His wife," Max said taking a bite of food and thinking. "He said she approached perfection."

"That's not surprising; he was in love with her." Logan said leaning back and taking a sip of wine.

"Yea but I mean, how can you think someone's perfect and know nothing true about them? If she really was this person…"

"He would have probably still loved her."

"I just think it's weird.

"I think that sums up love pretty well. Weird. People generally don't fall in love with people who should suit them. True love, now those are the weird couples."

Max frowned, Original Cindy had described him as her true love, "What do you mean?"

He smiled "Let's see spoiled rich kid with too much time on his hands and government created, genetically engineered not all human cat burglar? Sound a little familiar?"

Max smiled once more, "Why Logan Cale are you saying I'm your true love?"

He shook his head as he smiled at her, "Was there ever any doubt?"


	12. Innocence

**Chapter Twelve **

_Innocence _

_

* * *

_

The following weekend:

_Max- _

_The drive to _ _Toren_ _Oregon__ Julia Lydecker's final resting place was a long one. Between the check points and the drive itself we had been in the car for eight hours and for the past three out of those eight hours _ _Logan__ laughed and made fun of me for acting like a child for repeatedly asking "Are we there yet?" You'd think after a year, he'd be used to me not being able to sit still. I mean hey I jumped out of a window the first day we met… _

-o-o-o_- _

Once past the final checkpoint and into the small town she allowed her mouth to drop, "It's Mayberry."

Logan laughed, "You know Mayberry?"

"I've caught a few reruns," she sheepishly admitted, but then turned her gaze back to the town, "I didn't know there were places like this that still existed."

"Yea," he said looking around at the small country stores and people walking down the street, "looks like they've been a little more prosperous than Cape Haven."

"So where to first?" Max asked, half expecting Logan to send her to the trenches of some library to do actual research before they approached the locals.

Logan looked around as the drove through the only slightly populated street. "Coffee," he said with a smile, he needed it after 8 hours in the car with the five year old version of Max.

-o-o-o-

Inside The Diner 

"Max," Logan whispered tapping her on her shoulder.

"Hmm?" She murmured turning and then following his gaze to the wall opposite the counter, it was covered with pictures, she hadn't bothered to glance at, only look for the waitress.

It was a picture of a young Lydecker, his face and his eyes so innocent and hopeful that half of her didn't even believe it was him. His arm was around his wife, who Max could once more see clearly that she wasn't a clone of, she did have her eyes, but their faces held more of a resemblance than anything else, her skin darker than her own, her hair a different texture.

It was the cute little boy sitting on Lydecker's lap that Max finally forced her attention towards, she didn't want to look at the little boy who had died so young, didn't want to see the child who was everything to Lydecker she was never going to be, but had always wanted to be as a child.

He was cute.

Like really cute, his hair was a sandy brown, but he was still too young for it to be anything but a baby's breath on his head and hazel eyes stared out past his death and seemed to bore into Max's soul.

Seeing that little boy, who had his life snatched away from him at five made Max want to cry.

She blamed his mother's eyes, this little part of her DNA was once the same part that watched that little boy grow and then whither away. _Was that somehow recorded into her DNA? Could feelings be passed along like traits? Hadn't they disproved that decades ago?_

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't realize anyone had come in…How can I help you?" Max ignored the voice, trying keep the tears in her eyes.

"Two cups of coffee would be great." She heard Logan say

She took a deep breath and turned

The woman looked up as she grabbed two cups and saucers from beneath the counter and her eyes connected with Max's. For a moment all Max could see was kindness, a sweetness in those old grayish blue eyes that she rarely saw in the city and then suddenly Max saw shock. The shock she had seen in Original Cindy's eyes after she found out about Manticore, the way Max feared people would see her if they ever found out the truth about her.

She heard the ceramic shatter on the ground and it seemed to pull the woman out of her daze.

Logan's eyes connected with Max's, asking her if they should run, wondering if this place wasn't a set up.

Before even Max could decide the old woman raised a hand up to her mouth, "Oh my god you have her eyes." She turned to the wall where they had been looking before turning back to Max.

Max just kept her mouth shut.

"Julia Lydecker?" Logan supplied, they had come here looking for answers.

She nodded in affirmation and then suddenly realized what had just happened "Oh dear, I gave you a heart attack didn't I? Sit down kids." She motioned to the stools in front of her and took out two new cups and filled them before she talked again. "I'm sure your father must have looked at you a thousand times like that. You just looked so much like her at that moment; you could always see what she was feeling in her eyes."

"Yea he told me I have her eyes." _Play the part Max, _the voice inside her reminded

She smiled again, "Deck did love your mother's eyes. Said he could stare into them for hours and he wouldn't only see her, he saw parts of himself he had never dreamed possible."

Logan smiled, "I know that feeling."

"Oh you know what we haven't introduced ourselves, I'm Dorothy Woodrick. I've owned this place since your father was a boy coming here with his parents."

"I'm Logan Cale and this is Max," he said extending a hand.

"Just Max?"

Max nodded, there was something off about this whole thing, what had Lydecker said about gut? She should so be out of this town by now.

"Max, you know that names seems so familiar. Maybe your mother mentioned it once."

Finally Max knew she needed to speak, "She died before I was born."

Sympathy flooded the woman's eyes, "Oh honey I know, I lay flowers at her grave every 4th of July."

"Why the fourth?" Logan asked.

"It was the last time I saw her alive and that's how I want to remember her." Her mind drifted back to that day, it was evident in her eyes as she spoke, "I can still remember your parents that day, been together over a decade and they still acted like they had met only yesterday."

"Can you tell me about it?"

She extended a hand and placed it over Max's. "Oh sure honey. Let's see. It was a sweltering day, had to have been mid-nineties. Oh you know what I have a picture on the wall."

She walked over the wall and scanned it, she found the picture and took it off the wall and then gestured for Max and Logan to sit at a table opposite of her. She turned the pictured around and gave it to Max, it was still a younger Lydecker that Max found disconcerting, but she could see the lines had formed around his eyes, _guess losing a child did that to a person._ The woman's hair was up in a sloppy knot, it was frizzing, they both had on bathing suits, hers a black bikini, the bottom covered by a pair of ultra short army fatigues, the store bought kind and his just a pair of black trunks, though longer than she would have expected from him, then again he never had dressed very out of style, even now in his fifties. The thing Max couldn't get over was the fact that they both were covered in paint.

Max just looked up confused at Dorothy.

She laughed, "Face painting every year. It's a tradition." She laughed some more, "The stars and the moons is actually quite masculine for Jules. Your poor father had rainbows, butterflies, balloons, god, just about every embarrassing thing your mother could think of."

"He didn't mind?"

"No, not at all. He'd complain like he did, but you could always see the laughter in his eyes."

"What's POD?" Logan asked examining Julie's camouflaged face and body, wondering what the word across her chest meant, he doubted it meant pod, like a pea pod.

"P.O.D. Property of Deck. He labeled her every year, not like she'd ever forget though; she loved that man more than anything." She once more extended a hand across the table to cover Max's "She loved you too, even though you never met her."

"How is that possible?" She still found the whole thought of being thought of as a dead woman's child a little disconcerting, but it was obvious the woman had more than believed it possible.

"Well she created you didn't she? You know your father was so anti having more kids after Matty died, he blamed himself. But your mother knew better, she knew how much he loved that little boy and being a daddy. I remember asking her how she was going to make Deck agree with her, she said she wasn't going to give him a choice and just to be sure everything was going to go smoothly she was going to make sure you looked like her, so he could never be mad at you." Awareness dawned in the old woman's eyes, "She said she would make sure you had her eyes." She shook her head "God, I guess if you wish hard enough for something you really can make it happen."

Suddenly two people walked into the diner, "Hey Dorothy," they called out.

"I'll be right back," she said standing.

Max leaned into Logan, "I don't like this, I think we should leave."

"Why because you're finding out Lydecker isn't only human, he was a nice guy at one point?"

"Yea well if nice guys grow up to be Lydeckers I'm leaving you here." Max replied with her normal bite.

"You're afraid because you feel connected to him, you've always felt connected to him, he's been the only father you've ever had as horrible as that is."

"You know you're right, I don't have any choice in being connected to Lydecker, but I don't want to feel connected to this woman because I have her eyes. She isn't my mother, my mother is the woman who loved me and wanted to keep me."

"Yea, but a little part of you might be a little part of this woman."

"And I'm probably more connected to alley cats."

"I figured it out," Dorothy said sitting back down

"That was quick," Logan said startled by her reappearance.

"They just wanted pie and coffee. Speaking of which, can I get you kids anything else. A refill on that coffee Logan?"

"No thank you."

Max looked over and saw Logan's almost drained coffee cup and then down at her completely full one, she forced herself to take a sip and shook her head.

"So what is it you figured out Dorothy?" Logan asked

"Your name, your brother's favorite cartoon or maybe it was just the only one your mother let him watch 'Mighty Max.'"

"Mighty Max?" Logan bit back a laugh, thinking once more of Phil.

"I was not named after a cartoon," Max said giving him the evil eye. _I freakin named myself and this jerk is thinking that I'm on a trip down memory lane._

"Your father never told you anything about your mother or brother did he?"

Max shook her head

"Your brother started getting sick when he was around 4, no one knew what was going on, he was just a little boy who got sick really easily. Your parents had been trying to have another child since he was 2 or maybe 3; no it was 2 years because they thought a 3 year gap was perfect. Two kids at 21 wouldn't have made sense to anyone but your parents. Well anyway, they started doing all of that in-vitro stuff right before Matty starting getting sick. Before they realized how sick he was and they stopped trying to have you to focus on him, he always said he wanted to name you Max after the character in the show. I think it was like Maximilus or something, the point is you should be really grateful you were a girl."

Max couldn't fake another smile, another response, "You know it's getting really late, it was a long drive."

"Oh of course. You're not staying at the cabin are you? I can't imagine how much work that place needs. I wouldn't be surprised if all your mother's things were still out."

"No we're staying in a cabin on the lake," Logan once more answered for Max. "I wonder though if you could draw us a map for how to get to there tomorrow though." His words were seamless.

"Oh not a problem," she stood and walked over the counter.

Logan followed her, "You know I really want to thank you for all you've done."

She waved her hand "Oh it was nothing; I have tons of stories about those two. If your girlfriend's ever up to hearing them I'll be more than willing to tell them." She stopped writing out directions and looked over at Max who was staring at the wall. "She just found the picture of Deck when he caught that big ol' fish. He wasn't a good dad to her was he?"

Logan shook his head "He let his old demons drive him. It's hard to imagine that guy in the picture as they guy we just left."

"He loved her didn't he?"

Logan nodded, knowing he wasn't lying "He just didn't show it very well."

"What a shame" she said shaking her head, "Well here are the directions, I think they're pretty clear, now you go take that pretty little girl of yours to the cabin, she needs some rest. Coffee's on the house."

Logan smiled and gave his thanks.

"Uh, thanks for everything Dorothy," Max said when Logan rejoined her

She was putting the picture back down on the table, when Dorothy called out "Oh honey you can keep it, I'm sure I've got another one I can pop up somewhere."

"Thanks," Max melting into Logan as he put an arm around her to lead her out of there.

* * *

Okay so this chapter was for every time I've heard, that was such a short chapter...I hope you didn't fall asleep in the middle of it. Oh and babyangel I'm sorry I killed someone off on your bday, though now you are forever connected to my story, which makes sense since you review the most and have kept these chapters being posted. Sorry it was a kid dying though. 


	13. Pillow Talk

**Chapter Thirteen**

_Pillow Talk_

**_

* * *

_**

The Motel later that night:

"What do you think Lydecker's going to do if we find out he's been working for the people who killed his wife?"

Logan looked across at Max, who was lying on the bed and took off his glasses, "Go after them"

"He'll get himself killed."

"He'll know that," he gestured for her to move over a bit and lifted his body onto the bed facing her. "What was your first instinct after you found Tinga?"

"To kill Lydecker."

"Then after you found out it wasn't him, you wanted to go after Manticore, even though the slightest thing going wrong could mean your death."

"I didn't go though."

"Why?" he asked

"I wasn't ready to leave you."

"I'd like to point out I'm never going to be ready for you to leave me, so try to avoid ever doing so, but if I ever lost you…I would die making sure who ever took you away from me suffered as much as possible. She was his world Max."

She smiled, "Are you saying I'm your world?"

"I'm saying you're pretty high up there, I mean I put Eyes Only on hold for you." He turned and laid back next to her.

She laughed and poked him, "You've put Eyes Only on hold about twice now. I don't think that really counts."

He wrapped an arm around her and she took a deep breath of his freshly bathed smell. "I would put it on hold more often if you really wanted me to."

Max gave a contented sigh and snuggled into him, "I would never want you to. Though you know if you ever stand me up for dinner again you're going down."

"Kendra cooked you didn't, you ever cook for me I promise I will be there no matter what."

"Did I ever tell you I cooked a chicken?"

"You cooked a chicken and you didn't invite me?" he asked offended.

"Yea well it wasn't a poulet chez Cale."

"I'm sure it was amazing. You'll have to make it again."

"We can make it together."

He shook his head, "I'd like that."

"I like this" she smiled into his shoulder.

He turned his gaze downward, "I like this too."

-o-o-o-

Early Morning Hours:

"He wouldn't have given up."

"What?" Max said slightly groggily, she was almost dozing

"Lydecker wouldn't have stopped the search for his wife's killer."

She frowned, annoyed, but not too surprised that Logan's mind was still on Lydecker, even after they had just made love, _that man could be all business sometimes_, "He was a drunk," she pointed out.

"He was a military man, deeply in love with his wife; I mean the guy's killed everyone, why would he let the one person who personally wronged him go free."

Max woke up fully to that, "So what are you saying?"

He leaned over and turned on the light, "I'm saying Lydecker thinks that the person was punished."

"The case was unsolved," she reminded him.

"Yea and there's probably another case out there that's unsolved. Lydecker wouldn't have let the person go and chances are he wouldn't have put his faith in the local cops."

"So Manticore or the company set up someone to take the fall."

Logan shook his head, "Probably left a trail of breadcrumbs for Lydecker to follow, in his grief who knows how he was thinking."

"This whole thing is just off, none of it makes sense. Why would they kill her? Was she planning on exposing them? She would have been exposed too, she probably would have ruined Lydecker's career."

"I don't know. There's something off about this whole thing," he shook his head once more; he had an uneasy feeling about this.


	14. A Lack of Answers

**Chapter 14**

_A Lack of Answers_

_

* * *

_

Max Voiceover-

I wish I could say we got answers after our weekend in Toren, but all it seems that we got were more questions.

He'd been at the cabin recently, despite no one in the town having seen him in years. It was probably the first place he went after we scrapped the mission. It was a homey type cabin, not the rustic place I'd been expecting from him. Then again it had been decorated when he'd had a wife. I could tell that nothing had been changed, but everything was still in good condition even after 25 years, so it probably hadn't been used much.

Pictures lined the walls, covered every inch of available space on the mantle. Pictures telling of a totally normal and happy family. Lydecker's prom and wedding, countless baby photos, followed by a visual diary of Matthew's life, even the shockingly tragic pictures from his final days, but his smile was the same all throughout, bright and unwavering. It was just like the love so present in his parents' eyes, from start to end they were a happy family, a happy normal family that was just one big lie and not real at all. Logan had looked at me like I was insane when I said that…

_"How is it not real?"_

_"If she is, who you say she is, then everything their marriage was built on is a lie."_

_"So Charlie and Tinga? Their marriage wasn't real?"_

_"She was lying to protect him," Max quickly defended her sister._

_"My guess is that's what she was doing."_

_"Tinga didn't hurt anyone."_

_He shook his head at Max, looked annoyed and then suddenly sympathetic, "Why do you want to hate her Max?"_

_She slumped back into the car's seat, "If she's part of the reason behind Manticore, if she was developing that technology to create us…"_

_"Then you owe being alive to her Max. Because no matter what, as much as you hate them, you wouldn't exist without them."_

_Max shook her head, "Just let me hate her without a reason. Let me see him as the villain. That man has made my life hell for two decades; I can't think of him like that _ _Logan__. I can't see him as the husband and the father. I can't feel sorry for him Logan."_

_"No one's asking you too. See him as human Max, same as everyone else. No one is entirely evil, not even Lydecker."_

I hated Logan for saying that, just like hated him for calling me Lydecker's favorite, hating him for reminding me of the power Lydecker still has over me after 11 years of being free.

I hated this trip, I hated finding out nothing more than what a good guy Lydecker once was. That he couldn't have been responsible for his wife's death because he had been fishing with some friends at the time. I hated seeing the graves that were the cause for what Lydecker became. I hated being reminded of loss.

_I hate being reminded of loss._


	15. Picture Perfect

**Chapter 15**

_Picture Perfect_

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The following weekend:

Max and Original Cindy's apartment 

"Okay so are we sure I look okay?" Max asked adjusting the soft peach colored dress. It was flowy, mid-calf and softer in style than anything she'd normally wear. According to Original Cindy it was the perfect dress for a spring garden wedding. She glanced out the windows for the millionth time and saw that the weather was still holding. She started to panic again and looked in the mirror, her curls having been tamed into an almost retro seventies flip, like the hairstyle she'd worn to win the money needed to keep Sketch alive. If it started to rain, her entire outfit and her hair was going to be destroyed, _why had she let Cindy talk her into this?_

"Well you might get a few odd looks unless you put some shoes on," she said looking down at Max's bare feet, "Unless this is a hippie wedding and you forgot to mention it."

Max groaned, why was this wedding making her so spacey? She grabbed the box and sat down on her bed to put on the tan strappy sandals.

"Boo, you're acting like you've never been at a family event with him before."

"I've been to one and I was barely even at it if you don't recall."

Original Cindy laughed, "Don't worry, I informed Normal yesterday to not get into any life or death dramas because we weren't coming to bail him out."

Max looked up and made a face, "What about Sketchy? Did you lock him in a room, so he can't pull any stupid shit I need to go save him from?"

"Everything will be fine," Original Cindy soothed

"You haven't met Logan's family, he's miserable around them." She pouted, "I hate when he's not happy."

Cindy laughed, "Mrs. Cleaver, can Max come out and play? I mean seriously girl, you and that boy, what's it been? Just over a month? This is once more reminding me can we at least shift your things into my room? Yours is a hell of a lot bigger."

Max laughed, she knew it was probably time to just finish moving her things over to Logan's, almost all of her clothing was there anyway. She doubted that Logan even realized she still had things here; they'd never even talked about moving in together, it had just kinda happened.

There was a knock at the door and Max jumped up.

Original Cindy laughed, "Dammit girl, breathe. You've been away from the man for 3 hours; you're acting like its 3 years."

"Stop making fun of me," she said swatting at her girl, _why the hell was everyone getting so much damn amusement over her lately?_

"God," Cindy said following her into the living room, "If you're like this for his cousin's wedding I don't want to know what a wreck you're going to be at yours."

Max turned in fear, shock, and anger, as if Logan could hear through the door, "Shhh…" she stammered out, "Do not say things like that."

"Just go open the door Sug"

Max did as she was told and smiled brightly as she saw Logan in the light tan suit, "Wow," they said in unison.

"God you two are sickening," Original Cindy said watching from the living room.

"Hey Original Cindy," Logan said walking into the apartment.

"Hey Boo," she said and then laughed looking at them, "I feel like a Mom on prom night. You're lucky I don't have a camera." She thought for a moment, "Ooh you know what I think I might. Don't leave yet," she said rushing into her room.

Max frowned, "Speaking of prom nights, Daphne isn't going to be there is she?"

He laughed, "If she is you have my permission to have Original Cindy crash the wedding again."

"So you sure I look okay?" she asked trying to mask the nervousness she felt.

His eyes rolled over her again, "I think you'll do," he said teasingly. "Definitely not a single thing to hear Aunt Margo complain about on you."

"I think she might be pretty impressed even by you today. Same girl for the second family event this year. Probably a record."

"Well you know I was going to ask that model that just…"

He didn't get to finish about the model that had just moved into their building as she hit him.

"Oww"

"Don't tease, I've been primped and prodded for over an hour for this deal," she said with normal Max attitude back.

"I'm sorry," he said leaning in to kiss her. "God I hate family weddings though. I know the moment I see her I'm going to hear about my shoes."

Max looked down at the boots he was wearing and raised an eyebrow. "They match," she said.

"I'm wearing chunky boots with a suit."

Max laughed, "They're part of what keeps you upright. Walking or perfect shoes. I think your aunt would be more annoyed if you messed up the flow of her wedding photo by being 4ft and in a clashing chair."

He shook his head, "I'm still going to hear about them though." He looked at her and sighed, "I just hope this thing doesn't conk out while I'm on the middle of the dance floor."

"It's been working fine, I thought you and Sebastian worked out all the kinks."

"We think we have, who knows if we really have though. I've got the chair in the car just in case."

Max laughed, "All will be fine," she raised up to kiss him. "Maybe I'll even find more of your mom's stuff to steal back."

"Found it," Original Cindy said walking out of the room waving a camera in her hand.

"Oh you're kidding me," Max said in shock.

Logan laughed, "I wish I had a corsage to pin on you."

"Shut up you two and smile," Cindy said raising the camera up.


	16. Family

**Chapter 16**

_Family _

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"Okay you know what, I've rethought this…You look too beautiful to go to some stuffy wedding, we should go out. Do something special." He said as approached the estate.

"You are such a wuss," she said shaking her head.

"You've met these people. Why would anyone in their right mind socialize with them?"

"Because they're the only family you have and you know that."

She laughed as Logan made puppy dog eyes at her, she hadn't even known he was able to do that. "We're still going, so turn in," she said as they approached the driveway.

He sighed.

-o-o-o-

Max walked with her arm tucked into Logan's, trying to ignore the occasional comments she saw being whispered as people noticed them. Logan had made sure to let his family know about the exo, he hadn't wanted dozens of people rushing him asking him if he was somehow miraculously cured. At least they were spared their direct comments that way.

"Hey Logan," Bennett came walking up to them, he turned to her, "Max right? We didn't really get a chance to talk at my wedding."

"Hey Bennett/Hi" they said at the same time.

"Where's Marianne?" Logan asked and as if on cue Bennett's wife appeared walking towards them in a pale blue dress.

"Honey," Bennett said wrapping an arm around his wife's waist, " Logan was just asking about you."

"Hello Logan, Max" she said with a smile.

Max clutched Logan's arm tighter, _his family knew her name_. He patted her hand with his free one to reassure her. "Hello Marianne, you're looking lovely."

"Thank you. Max that's just a gorgeous dress. You have wonderful taste; I still remember your dress from my wedding."

"Thank you," she politely replied with a smile, "Yours is beautiful too."

"Okay," Bennett said with a laugh, "Now that we're done with the pleasantries, did you hear anything about his bachelor's party?" he asked his cousin.

"I didn't go."

"Yea none of us did, they didn't invite our half because they had more than just strippers…" he whispered and they all leaned in closer.

-o-o-o-

" Logan they're calling for a family shot. I think that means you."

He made a face, "I don't think so."

She laughed, "I don't think you get any say in the matter."

"I hate those things."

"Umm your Aunt is giving you the evil eye. I think you're holding things up."

"God I hate these things," he said taking her hand.

"I'll wait over here so I'm not in the way," she said not moving.

He frowned looking down at her, "You're my family Max remember? If it's a family shot you belong there."

"But…"

"Not buts. Anyway this way I can position you to be blocking my boots," He laughed as he started to lead them over.

-o-o-o-

"I like Bennett and Marianne," Max said leaning back into the seat as the others crowded the dance floor to watch the first dance.

"Yea, she's nice isn't she," he said shifting his seat over so he could be closer to her.

"Your aunt also hasn't said anything about your shoes yet."

He laughed, "That's because you told Bennett to make sure she didn't"

"You heard that?" she asked with a smile

He nodded, "This is actually kind of nice," he said reflecting about the wedding.

"Maybe it was just old Uncle Jonas that made the parties such downers."

He frowned, "I hated being called Junior. My own father never called me that and I was his junior."

"You ever tell him that?"

"I did when I was younger, by the time I hit around 16; I just stopped caring what the man said or did."

Max made a face, _who was he kidding? _

"What?" he asked honestly.

"Nothing," she shook her head amused at his denial.

"Everyone else is joining in…You want to dance?"

_"Hey," he said as he walked over to her sitting on the counter after just putting on music. _

_"Hey yourself. What?" she asked puzzled by what he wanted. _

_"Come dance with me," he said extending his hand. _

_She looked down at herself, she was barefoot in boxers and a tank, having already showered and changed for bed. _

_"You don't need the white dress." _

_She made a face, still confused by that, "Was that real?" _

_The confusion showed through on his face, "I guess so since we both remember it. So come on dance with me." _

_She smiled, hoped off, and went willingly into his arms. She wondered how funny they would look to someone watching them. He looked so put together in a pair of black slacks and a maroon shirt and she was there with her hair in a sloppy knot, a pair of his gray stripe boxers and a white ribbed tank. She had no shoes on so she was basically at his chest level. She placed her head against his chest and realized it was even better than the dream. _

"Kinda happy just sitting here," she said leaning closer to him.

He lifted his arm and drew her in.

-o-o-o-

" Logan I hate to say this," Bennett began, dropping into Max's free seat, she was off in the bathroom with Marianne.

"Then don't," Logan suggested.

"Oh, but I must. I think your days of being the black sheep of the family are drawing to an close."

"I don't know about that. I still just write those little articles of mine."

"You still okay for money?" he asked realizing Logan was the only one now without a job besides from his mother.

"Yea, I had plenty tucked away. I get the remainder of my parents' estate in a few years anyway."

"Oh that's right. So back to you not being the black sheep anymore. You and Max look pretty serious."

Logan shook his head at his cousin, "Max is also barely more than a kid herself. My status as black sheep is sealed forever Ben."

Bennett looked at Max walking over to them, "How old is she?"

Logan laughed, "Young, legal though so don't worry too much."

-o-o-o-

"Okay how pissed is your family going to be that we ducked out of the wedding early?"

"My family is always happy to see me leave," he gave her a knowing look and then returned his attention to the road.

She laughed, "That's not true. Your cousin JJ seemed to be the only ass of the group. I'm thinking it might be the name."

"Yea," Logan shook his head and sighed, "He just stepped right into that role didn't he?"

"So why did Bennett keep looking at me weird? Did you tell him I was part cat?" she joked.

"Ha, no. I told him your age cemented my black sheep status after he accused me of being grownup." Logan glanced over at her, "You know we should have asked Lydecker when your birthday was. Did you ever pick one?"

"I did, it was somewhere in October I think."

He laughed, "You forgot the date you picked for your birthday."

Actually surprised herself, "Kinda shocking isn't it." She shook her head, "It was whenever we did that Herrero thing." She made a face when she realized what she said, "Hmm maybe a birthday around the time one of your friends was murdered isn't the best idea." She laughed, "I'll think about it again. And get back to you this time."

"You do that," he grinned.


	17. Something Good

**Chapter 17 **

_Finally Something Good _

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Midweek: 

"Woah, Max," Sketchy shook his head as he saw her walk into Jam Pony, "I would've hated being the guy taking you to the prom."

She looked at him confused, not shocking since this was Sketch and he had definitely taken one too many to the head, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Your dad," he shook his head again, "Scariest man I've ever seen."

"My what?"

"Oooh Boo," Cindy said rushing over, she hooked an arm around Max's shoulders and led her away.

"What's going on?" Max said under her breath

"Lydecker was here…Left a file with me for you."

"Lydecker was here?"

"Yea," she said with a nod of her head, "Good thing you gave me the heads up on what the man looked like. Heard your name while I was getting a soda, turned around knew it was him."

"So why did Sketch just call him my dad?"

OC laughed, "I think you guys both do the same evil death glare…Normal looked up and once he found the words to talk again said "Mr. Guevara right? This explains a lot."

"We do not have the same evil death glare."

Original Cindy laughed, "Well you both have very scary ones…I understand why you spent 11 years running from the guy. He was nice enough to me though." She opened her locker and handed Max the file.

She opened it and briefly flipped through the papers.

"What is it?"

Max looked up in surprise, "Looks like how to get rid of my seizures…" she looked back down and flipped some more, "Or at least control them."

"Nice to know the guy finally did something for you."

"Hmm," she looked some more.

"What's up boo?"

She shook her head, "Nothing," and closed the file. "So did I show you the pictures Logan's cousin took at the wedding?"

"Ooh no," Cindy said eagerly anticipating the pics.

Max put the file in her locker and took out the photos Logan had printed out last night.

Cindy started flipping through them, "Haha," she said turning the pic for Max to see, "Family shot, you're in a family shot. I told you, you and rich boy are getting married."

Max just shook her head, "For the nine millionth time, he's not rich anymore."

Cindy almost dropped the pictures and froze.

"What?" Max said suddenly anxious, _what had happened, what did she say?_

"You didn't have a comeback about you and Logan not getting married or hell even you flippin out."

Max just shook her head and sighed. "Less than two months," she reminded her friend.

Cindy gave a small sarcastic laugh, "Whatever you say Boo." She went back to flipping the photos, then looked up, smiling, "Can we invite Daphne?"

-o-o-o-

"You're not going to believe who was at my job today?" Max said after walking into the apartment and over to Logan who was engrossed in research.

He looked up, "Well if it was Jacob Seidner, you made my life a lot easier."

Max laughed as she took off her bag, Logan had been looking for this guy for almost 3 weeks for yet another police corruption scandal, she shook her head, "Sorry"

"Dammit," he joked as he pushed back from the desk and looked up at her, "So who was it?"

"Lydecker," she said propping herself up against the desk.

Logan looked at her surprised, "Did he say where he's been? What did he want?"

"I didn't see him, he left this file with OC though," she grabbed the file out of her bag.

Logan flipped through it and didn't speak for a few moments, "So with constant treatment"

She cut him off, "Bye bye seizures, revved up girl can stay fully functioning."

He frowned, "Hmm."

"I really hate when you do that."

He laughed, "I'm sorry, I just wonder if we'll really be able to eradicate the seizures with that piece of junk in your head."

"Be positive," she said walking away and into the kitchen, "Maybe I'll just need stronger doses."

"I'll call Sam and see what he can hook us up with," He said once more looking back down at the file.


	18. A Final Glance

Ahh finally a review, only took a week. So a review means a new chapter and here it is. **

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Chapter 18

_A Final Glance_

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"I found him" she heard Logan declare from the other room. 

She stood up from the sofa smiling, "Seidner?" she asked walking towards him.

He stood and turned, "No Lydecker."

"You're kidding?" She'd always known Logan was good, but sometimes he amazed even her. This was the guy that taught her how to escape and evade and he was being brought down by a guy with no military training.

"Nope" he smiled.

She smiled back, Logan finally seeming happy for the first time in awhile. He was keeping a secret, she knew that, there was something weighing on his mind that he wasn't sharing with her. He of course claimed that there wasn't but after a year she knew better. "So what's the game plan gonna be? We go hey guess what you spent twenty plus years working for the people who off-ed your wife?"

His eyes grew serious and the high of finding Lydecker wore off, "We give him the report, let him figure out the truth himself."

Max made a face, there was always going to be a part of her that just wanted to pour salt in Lydecker's wounds. She thought about that picture again, she thought about Lydecker covered in paint, his arm wrapped around his wife. Logan was right, it hadn't been a lie. That was love, as pure and as true as theirs, whatever else she was, whatever else he became didn't change that. They were going to be telling a guy that he had been made into a monster by the people he had trusted.

"I've got to see Sebastian tomorrow, I should be home by 10. That sound good?"

Max nodded, she didn't want to wait, but showing up on Lydecker's doorstep at 3am would be more than a little odd and the last thing she wanted to find out what was Lydecker nighttime attire.

-

"Max?" Lydecker face and voice showed the shock of seeing her.

"Let your guard down with that shower. Don't you know people are looking to kill you?"

"I'm taking it you're not one of them?"

"If I wanted you dead, you would have been dead awhile ago."

"So why are you here Max?"

"Why are you here? Like they're not going to come looking for you at your apartment?"

He toweled his hair looking at her "They'll never trace this place back to me."

"I traced it back to you."

"Logan traced it back to me," he pointed out, though he didn't doubt her abilities to do so, just her need. "It was the eyes thing wasn't it?" Finally realizing why she was here.

Max nodded

"She'd been gone for three years when they started making you. I knew one of the guys in the lab, I don't know why I asked him. I guess I just couldn't bear the thought that her eyes wouldn't be out there somewhere. Just a little part of her left in the world."

"So tell me about my eyes" she said leaning back into the chair.

He nodded, he knew he owed it to her, "Let me get dressed."

-

He was back in the room in under two minutes and he found Max sitting on the couch with his wedding photo.

She didn't even bother to look up at him "You were so young, you don't look anything like you do now. Your eyes, they're…."

"I was 18. I had never killed anyone. I didn't know what loss meant. I had no clue about the world."

"She was really beautiful."

He smiled as he sat down in an armchair, "Yea, she's not too bad to be inspired from."

"So who was she?"

He shook his head, how did one answer that, "She was a scientist, drug research, AIDS actually for the last two years of her life. Brilliant woman, breezed through college finished in two and half years and she'd never go to class when I was home. She'd only go if there was a test, she'd stay by my side until I left again."

"Is that love or obsession?"

He sighed looking at her, thinking the disservice he had done her if she couldn't understand this after eleven years of being in the outside world, "Love Max, she was so afraid that the next time I left I wouldn't be coming home. She was always so worried that each memory would be our last. I never even thought about her being gone. It never even occurred to me that I could lose her."

"All I seem to think about is losing Logan." she didn't know why she said that, why she had let her guard down like that.

"You've lost a lot Max, you've lost a lot because of me. I taught you to fear the good because it doesn't last, but it can Max. I had 12 years with her, if I had lived those years waiting to lose her, our love would have paled in comparison to what it was."

She let out a sigh "It was all worth it? Charlie thought so too, even though he lost Tinga, he said it was still worth it."

"How long have you known Logan?"

"A year"

"Compare your life now to what it was." He waited a moment, "If it all disappeared tomorrow, would you still want to remember that year, if you were given the chance to relive it even though you knew it was going to end would you take it?"

She changed the subject, "Why'd you say you wished me could take me away from Manticore?"

His answer was simple, "You kids deserved better."

"You didn't say kids, you said me."

He knew these were the last moments for honesty, probably the final weeks of his life, Manticore was looking for him, what point was there to lie anymore? "Max, you were always like my daughter, no blood relation to me, but my wife's eyes. Eyes I'd always expected to see in our daughter, when you were born and you opened your eyes" he took a moment before he continued, "I saw my son in that first moment, it took weeks for your eyes to darken to her shade."

"What about my name?" Max asked in a hushed whisper

"I don't know how that happened." he shook his head, partly in shock that she knew, partly still in shock that it had happened. "You were so little, just a baby, how could I call you 452 when all you were was an infant. A little girl who looked like she was waiting for her parents to come take her home.

So one day when you wouldn't calm down, I said "It's okay Maxie" as I lifted you up to my shoulder and you stopped. I'd tried every position to get you to quiet down, I'd paced, I'd rocked, but when you heard your name you stopped. I made sure I stopped calling you Maxie by the time you were 18 months, a normal child wouldn't remember anything before 3. There are rare memories in some children when they're two…At18 months your brain isn't developed like it should be, even in you, that information should have been erased."

"Then I started calling myself Max"

He nodded, "I should have just taken you. I knew the first time I held you that you didn't belong there, there was something different in your eyes. All the other babies they could self sooth, you left them alone they stopped crying. You didn't, you needed to be held, but I just left you there." He wondered about the words coming out of his mouth, _when was the last time he'd been this honest?_ It felt almost as if he had been drinking…

"You left all of us there. How could you do that to us? We were kids." The hurt showing in her eyes, her whole childhood stolen…

"Because I was training you to save lives, I knew that you kids would be unstoppable. We wouldn't need anymore yellow ribbons on old Oak trees." his words had a slightly sarcastic/harsh bite to them. "Spouses and kids wouldn't have spend night after night in fear that one they loved wouldn't come home, parents too.

My wife though, she was horrible…more than any other army wife I'd met, every time I'd come home, the moment she saw me ten years would lift off her face. You kids though," he shook his head, remembering his reason for joining Manticore in the first place, "you could have kept this country safe without sacrificing lives. My dad died when I was nine. It was a peace keeping mission, not even a war.

You know what I remember from when they approached me about this, I remembered my wife talking about what it felt like waiting to get the news I wasn't coming home, I remembered being that little kid and being told my father wasn't coming home, I knew I could save thousands of families from feeling that. It had made so much sense before you, before all of you kids."

"We were just kids though."

That seemed to shock him out of his memory, out of what he had believed in for so long, it had been easier when he had avoided seeing his kids. It had been different finding out about their lives from other people as he tracked them, not seeing them. Not playing with their children, not seeing how they loved others. "I know Max and I'm sorry, I truly am. You know the Greeks, the best army that ever existed…They took children at a young age and trained them…That's what I focused on when your eyes would look up at me in fear…This had been done thousands of years before…"

She laughed, "Ever hear of slavery? That was done for a while too…I should be going. Logan gave me a file for you. It's on your table. Good luck in staying alive." She stood needing to get away.

He laughed, he knew it wasn't happening for much longer, "Find someone to get that thing out of your neck Max, it's just a matter of time before they come looking for you again. I don't want to think of what Renfro would do if she got her hands on you."

She nodded and headed for the door, she turned back, "When's my birthday?"

He looked startled for a moment by her question, he'd never realized how much a simple date could mean. "July 24th 2000."

"Thanks" she said turning back, she kept herself from glancing back for one final look at the man who'd been her father and her greatest enemy before she closed the door. She knew she wasn't seeing him again and for some reason she had to swallow hard as she climbed onto her bike.


	19. Truths

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** Yea this story falls into the more reviews more likely to get new chapters and Moving On and Remnants totally kicked its ass since this only had one, wait I'm lying there were 2. This story has a lot less fluff and filler than the others, which I'm guessing is what you guys like (okay I admit it, I'm a massive fan of fluff too). This story is more effort to write…Anyway here's the new chapter. Thanks for reading.**

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**Chapter 19**

_Truths_

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"Hey" he said walking into the apartment and seeing her in the kitchen drinking a glass of milk, he looked at the glass, "You feeling okay?" 

She nodded, "The best defense is a good offense."

He laughed at her sports answer, "You ready to go?"

"I already went."

He looked at her, studied her, she didn't look like he'd expected, "Lydecker read the file?"

"I assume so, I just left it with him….Oooh" she smiled, "July 24th, my birthday" she said pleased with herself for finally having something everyone else took for granted.

Logan had no reaction to the date, "You just left the file with Lydecker?"

"Yea" she shook her head, "What's the big deal, we knew what he was going to do when he found out…You know it's not safe if you make this into an Eyes Only thing now." They'd discussed it several times, Logan had agreed with her, albeit rather reluctantly.

He shook his head, "This isn't an Eyes Only thing Max." he groaned and sat down.

She walked over to him, "What's wrong?"

He looked up at her and wondered how she was so blind to the whole situation. He didn't want to just tell her, he wanted her to figure it out. "I can't believe you just let him go…" _He hadn't meant for this to happen, he didn't want it to happen this way._

"Logan what's the big deal?"

"Dorothy knew who you were Max." he said as if that would explain all.

She looked down confused.

He took her hand and pulled her into the seat across from him. "The moment she looked at you Max, she thought Lydecker and his wife were your parents."

"Because I have her eyes."

Logan shook his head, "You have her eyes, you have her build, you have similar lips, lighter coloring."

"I was inspired by her Logan."

"Max, she was a scientist who was manipulating genes. She was a woman who had lost her son to genetic disease. If you had that power, what would you do with it?"

Max shook her head, she wouldn't allow that thought to enter her mind.

"Max this isn't one those things you can ignore because it makes you uncomfortable. Max if you had lost a child like that what would you do?"

"Make a child that would never get sick." she whispered.

"You're why they killed her. I don't know why exactly, if she was refusing to part with the research or if it was that she refused to part with you. I finally got my hands on the employee list for Kleinfold, found one name that was on the same list as the one we found Hannah on."

"No" she said shaking her head, "Logan, you've got this all wrong. I asked him…" She'd asked him as they waited for McGinnis.

"Max" he squeezed her hands, "Part of me knew the moment Dorothy looked at you…She didn't only see Julia, she saw Lydecker too... There was a baby tooth in one of the drawers." he took a deep breath, "Sebastian finally got the results in today...Taking into account the genetic splicing…" he shook his head, "You're not related to Churchill or Einstein."

"You got your intel wrong once more." She said standing.

He stood and followed her, "I wish I hadn't been the one to tell you this Max. It's not my place."

She turned and there was fury in her eyes, "So what did you expect to have happen if I stayed with him to read that file?"

"He would have known Max. He would have seen the research as a large basis for what Manticore did, how they were replacing sections of genes with non-defective ones, the leap from creating a child who would never get sick, to adding outside genes to make them stronger and faster…It wasn't a big one."

"You're aware of what you're telling me right? You're perfectly clear what it is you're saying? The man who spent the first nine years of my life hell, the man who tracked me like an animal for the past eleven. You're telling me that he is my father. That he should have been carting me to soccer practice and not keeping me chained underwater."

"You were meant to be their daughter Max, not a soldier." He tried to pull her in close to him, but she pushed him away.

She shook her head and tears finally welled up so much she had no say in keeping them in her eyes.

"She loved you Max….You always knew that, that's why you wanted to find your surrogate, you knew your mother loved you deep down."

She shook her head again, "No that young woman who had me ripped away from her, she's my mother, not some person who thought she was god."

The pain was evident in his eyes as he looked at her, he had no idea how to help her. She was hurting and he couldn't do anything about it.

She shook her head and took off. He had no chance of catching up to her.

* * *

She jumped off her bike and ran into the building, she knew he would have some other explanation for this. He would tell her it was a lie, that she had only ever been meant to be a soldier,_ not a daughter._

She banged on his door and realized she heard no noise coming from inside. She didn't have the patience to pick his lock again, she just pushed it open, breaking the lock. "Lydecker" she called out. There was no response.

She started walking over to the table she had left the folder on, the folder was still there with a stack of jewel cases next to it that hadn't been there before. She looked down at the folder and across it said "I'm sorry," she fell into a chair before it. Just collapsed down.

She finally looked over at the cd cases and noticed their was a key on top of them. It had a tag 'First National' it read, it was a key to a safety deposit box.

She stood, tucked the key into her pocket and gathered up the cd cases…She couldn't face Logan, she couldn't face all of this, not yet.


	20. Reactions

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Chapter Twenty

Reactions

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The door opened only seconds after Max had knocked on it, she'd been riding around all day, stopping only because she realized she was going to run out of gas soon. 

Original Cindy opened the door, the phone dropping away from her ear as she saw Max, "Oh thank god girl," she said wrapping her arms around Max, she separated to bring the phone back to her ear, "Logan she's here…Yea no, I won't leave her alone." she said over the phone, watching Max walk over to the sofa and drop onto it. "Your man's been worried sick all day." Cindy said pressing end.

She glared at Original Cindy, "He deserved to suffer a little."

"Okay well I'm guessing that means the honeymoon's over" Cindy said dropping down on the sofa next to Max. "Tell me what he was keeping from you."

Max stood and shook her head as she walked over to the window.

"It can't be that bad Max."

"No, this is pretty bad."

"Just tell me boo." Cindy said wrapping her arms around her.

"Normal was right." her voice was emotionless.

Original Cindy had no idea what her girl was talking about, so she tried to lighten her mood with humor, "So you're a lazy good for nothing"

It didn't work, Max turned and almost glared, "Lydecker's my father."

"That uh…he's…"

Max nodded.

"And Logan knew?" she asked piecing the puzzle together.

"He found out for sure today, but he's thought it for two weeks and never mentioned it to me."

"Oooh."

Max nodded.

"Can't believe anyone would treat their daughter like Lydecker treated you." she said shaking her head, the man had looked cold, but that was unimaginable.

"He didn't know." she shrugged weakly.

"Oh"

"Yea"

"So what you and Lydecker just supposed to sweep a decade worth of abuse and another one of him chasin you under the rug?"

"He'll be dead soon, no sweeping necessary."

"Max, I know you hate the man, but patricide is a little harsh."

She shook her head once more, "He doesn't need anyone's help getting killed."

Original Cindy didn't know what to do, so she just stayed there holding the stoic Max in her arms.

* * *

He was sleeping on the couch as she let herself back into the apartment. She paused to watch him for a moment and knew this day had been nearly as hard on him. She didn't doubt that he had followed her to Lydecker's apartment and probably searched all of her normal haunts looking for her. She was thankful though that once he knew she was safe he left her alone, giving her the space she needed.

The emotional drain on him was evident though as he slept with his head titled back on the sofa, files in his lap, he'd been waiting up for her. At least she understood now why Logan's sleep had been off for over a week. It was three am, he hadn't been asleep this early in at least 5 days and his sleep had been restless before that.

She made her way to the computer and put down the jewel cases Lydecker had left for her. Her hands trembled as she opened this first one and placed it in the dive.

She steadied her hand as she moved the mouse to open the file and then a small smile crossed her face when a picture appeared. It was Matthew, he must have been two or maybe three, she didn't have enough experience to be able to correctly date any child. He wasn't doing anything special, just standing in shorts before a body of water, probably the lake they'd stayed overlooking, orange bubbles on his arms. His skin had a slight tan to it, his hazel eyes popped, his hair had been spiked up with water. Max's fingers went out and touched the smiling cheeks and tears started to well up in her eyes. As much as she hated Lydecker and his wife….That little boy….He should have been her brother, he was her brother as much as Zack was.

"Max" she felt his arms go around her, she had missed hearing his movements, the sounds of the exo as he'd woken and walked to her, she had been too captivated by the picture on the screen.

She turned and buried her face in his neck. So many different thoughts and feelings ran through her, how this wasn't fair, how someone had stolen her life from her, she wondered who she would have been, she wondered how Lydecker could have done this to her, how Julia could have, she wondered not for the first time in her life who she was, so many questions there weren't answers to. Just Logan, "Who am I?" she whispered.

"Same person you've always been. Max. Sister, friend, love of my life. None of this changes that."

"I was his sister" she turned and looked at the monitor.

He nodded, "You still are, you've always been his sister."

Max blinked away the tears and looked at the face of the boy who had named her, but had never gotten to know her. She turned back to Logan, he was still there, still squatting by her side.

"I'm never leaving you, Max" he reassured as he raised a hand to her cheek.

"Life doesn't have guarantees. You can't promise that."

Tears caused his eyes to shine and he placed a hand on the back of her neck, green eyes stared deep into brown, "Yes I can. Even if I died tonight Max, I will never leave you."

She knew he was telling the truth, she would never be alone in this world again.

* * *

Yea okay, I did the whole Darth Vader and Luke thing. When I watched this show for the first time I was on the edge of my seat as they were about to have that convo (I really like Lydecker, he's got tons of potential, they were successful in making him a very human bad guy) and when I watched it for the second time I still remembered that. I almost took it out of the story, even though it was the reason why I wrote the story, but I decided against it. Different topic, unless I change my mind and decide there's something else I really wanna include next chapter is probably going to be the last one, just wanted to warn you, but there's a chance I could always come back to this story somewhere down their timeline. There are a few other things that I've been toying with, but I'm not sure if I actually want them in the story or not. Thanks for reading!


	21. A Sign of Things to Come

Chapter 21

_A Sign of Things to Come_

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_

Max made a face as she took a sip out of the goblet. "Do not walk over with a wine glass with what looks like wine and not have it be wine."

Logan laughed sitting down next to her "You're pregnant you can't have alcohol, what makes you think I'd give you wine."

She pouted "Today's special."

"Yea well my son would like all neurons to end up in their designated places."

"Just for this" she said raising the glass "I'm having a girl"

"Please don't threaten that" he said pulling her in close for a kiss "I can't handle two of you"

Max scrunched up her nose and sniffed "Are you drinking wine?"

Logan laughed "No, you can't so I'm not. You really think I'd risk it?"

"Smart man. Maybe I will be nice and have a boy after all. So three years…" she said with a wistful smile

"They've been a good three years haven't they?"

"Yea definitely not bad. A little busy though. Probably not the most normal courtship." she laughed

"What you're saying that you're not supposed to meet your future wife by her breaking into your apartment?"

She turned to him "Hey you broke right back into mine."

"Oh that's right…Almost forgot about that."

Max made a face "I can't believe I married such a creepy bastard." she went to take a sip from the glass and grimaced again, she'd forgotten it was only juice. She stretched over and put the glass on the table and dropped a hand to her barely curved stomach. Heat was definitely playing a very different role on their 3rd anniversary than it did on their first.

Logan had decided it was a good omen of things to come that she'd gotten pregnant as he'd been investigating why shipments of the pill were turning up as placebos, of course knowing that in advance hadn't slowed down or altered their actions caused by her heat, when she'd surprised him turning up in the middle of the day, it wasn't like she gave him any time to think. Remembering the possible consequences had come later and been proven more than possible. Their baby was a blend of Eyes Only and Manticore, the two reasons they'd come together.

She pushed away other thoughts of Manticore, Lydecker had managed to bring down Kleinfold's by reintroducing the exposé and the few other documents he'd retained from Manticore. The government however had so far managed to avoid having Manticore exposed. The guy, Harry Lever, who had been on both of the employee rosters was found dead in his house days two days after Lydecker disappeared in the wind. As for Lydecker, she didn't know what happened to him, if Manticore found him or not. He'd at least managed to stay alive for a month because a package had arrived for her at work with the name of a doc down in Fresno who could remove the implant.

"Please tell me dinner's almost ready."

"You cannot be hungry again," he looked over at the clock, "you ate less than two hours ago."

"That was a snack" she defended, "and it's not me, it's your son."

"Max" he said laughing as he stood to go check on dinner, "He only weighs a few ounces."

She pouted as he walked away still laughing at her appetite.

She stood and went to follow him, but got distracted by their wedding photo. They'd married on their second anniversary, so today was actually their first wedding anniversary. It was also their first alone anniversary. The wedding hadn't changed how she felt about their relationship or Logan, it hadn't made her more committed. It was nice, but they had been joined for long before it, they hadn't needed a priest saying words before them. Their vows may have been silent, but they had been known in their hearts.

Original Cindy had enjoyed it though, not really understanding why they had it on the rooftop and had been more than pleased to move back downstairs to the apartment for the party afterwards. It had been a party and not a reception they had made sure of that. Max thankfully didn't have to keep her promise to Cindy and Daphne hadn't been invited since OC had a new girlfriend at the time and only Bennett and Marianne had been invited from Logan's family, mostly done to give Logan piece of mind, it was bad enough they had to share their day with others, but family was pushing it. They could have chosen another day, but they hadn't wanted another anniversary besides from their own.

His arms came around her as he looked down at the picture. Them standing in the night sky lit up by lanterns, thankfully the weather had been good and they hadn't needed to use a tent. Logan was in a black suit with a white tie instead of a tux and Max's dress was a simple white floor-length halter, with none of the ornate-ness of Marianne's. It had still been a good day even though they'd had to share it with others.

"Is it wrong that I preferred this" his eyes gestured to them, "to that" he pointed at the picture with his head.

She laughed, "I don't know, but I definitely agree with you. We're homebodies"

Logan raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

Homebodies they definitely were not, once her June Cleaver phase wore off they got back to real life. Still too attached at the hip to fully please Original Cindy, but Eyes Only got its attention back and so did Max's friends. They were decently social now, not only with Max's friends, but Logan's too, which she hadn't even been aware he'd had in that first year. He'd already been overly involved with Eyes Only before he'd been shot, so it had been even easier to pull further away after. Their lives were on an even keel now, they had been for over a year and a half, rumor had it though that was going to change with the baby, but they were ready for it.

Logan pulled away to return his attention to hurrying dinner and Max's attention dropped down to a smaller frame, the little boy with sandy hair and hazel eyes. Her hand dropped to her stomach as she wondered if their son would look like him. It was the only photo she had pulled out of the photo albums that had resided in the safety deposit box Lydecker had left her, the albums were the physical version of the disks he'd left her. The box had contained everything he'd been before Manticore, before his wife died. Photo albums, scrap books, the medals he'd been awarded, the deed to the cabin in Toren, the life of her father, not the man who'd existed in his body afterwards. That was putting it too bluntly and Logan told her that all the time, but it was all she could handle. The Donald Lydecker who had been trying to have another child with his wife was not the one who raised her that was clear in every single picture she saw of him, it was clear in the journals Julia had left, which Max still hadn't found the courage to read in full. In just under two years, she had only made it three years into the journals. There was one entry that remained in Max's mind though. It was shortly after the 17 year old girl, her mother had found out she was pregnant, she read it over and over again, it had reminded her of her final words with Lydecker.

I guess one day you're going to be reading this, you or your siblings. I don't know how this all is going to have turned out, I don't know if Deck and I will fall victim to the statistics, if we'll fail. I doubt it just because of how stubborn he is, but I don't know what lays ahead for us, for you. We're doing things out of order, I'm sorry you're not coming into a perfect world, but I've got to believe everything's going to be alright. Even if it's not, I know we'll have tried our hardest and they'll be good memories to go along with the bad. I'm pretty sure the good's gonna outweigh the bad, even though things seem pretty scary right about now. Even if it doesn't though, at least we were in it together. Can't worry too much about tomorrow right? Today, right here and now that's the only thing we're guaranteed.

She smiled as she watched Logan doing his thing, which was still his thing despite the fact that she was getting better at it. She walked over and hopped up on the counter and started to fill him in on Sketch's latest exploits involving a stripper and her well-connected, very jealous boyfriend. He started to laugh and she dropped a hand to her stomach, watching him, definitely a sign of good things to come.

* * *

AN:

Okay I was going to end with Lydecker and Max standing before the graves, but I really wanted to bring Logan and Max back to their anniversary, past everything that had happened and allow Max to finally be happier and free (since most of the story was basically Max being scared and afraid of losing everything). I wanted to keep her with Logan in the final chapter because the thought of losing Logan and the life they were just starting to live is what kept her from going on that mission.

I skipped doing a whole Max/Lydecker coming to grips with this together for a few reasons. First Manticore is still after him, Lydecker would put her in jeopardy. Secondly, I don't think Lydecker could ever forgive himself for what he allowed to happen, so how could he force himself into her life. The third reason is I just kinda like leaving him in the wind, her not really knowing.

Also means that I can come back and do a sequel in the future because yea a scene between Deck and the man who killed his wife, stole his daughter…That's gotta be interesting.

Thanks for reading guys and reviewing I really appreciate it even when you hate to do it. It's a damn good way to get a sequel. Okay well that's it…THANKS!


	22. Frozen Memories

**Hmmm, okay well I was reminded a few days ago that I had promised a sequel to Omens. I guess this is it in more of a one shot deal. It's not Max and ** **Logan****, so don't complain afterwards, I warned you. This is Max's past, what led to her being who she is. ****Oh and if the structuring of the story bothers you I'm sorry, nowhere I tried to switch to italics of insert a line break seemed to like me, but hopefully you won't get past and present confused. **

-o-o-o-

Okay breakdown of the story so you don't have to reread the previous chapters

Max stays in AJBAC, skips over any running and pussyfooting over her relationship with Logan and instead falls right into it. The last chapter was just under two years in the future in relation to the start of this story, Max and Logan were married and expecting their first child.

_Max made a face as she took a sip out of the goblet. "Do not walk over with a wine glass with what looks like wine and not have it be wine." _

_Logan__ laughed sitting down next to her, "You're pregnant you can't have alcohol, what makes you think I'd give you wine." _

_She pouted, "Today's special." _

_"Yea well my son would like all neurons to end up in their designated places." _

_"Just for this," she said raising the glass, "I'm having a girl." _

_"Please don't threaten that," he said pulling her in close for a kiss, "I can't handle two of you." _

Two years before that though, they hit a rough patch as they tried to figure out what happened to Lydecker's wife.

_"Oh now see this is were it gets kinda good, she was involved in manipulating genes to prevent illness. It was top secret then, everyone thought she was doing normal drug research." _

_"So what, you think Lydecker was working for the people who killed his wife? That he killed her?" _

_"Well I don't think he killed her, I don't think he had any idea what she was doing at work, in fact I'm pretty sure what she was doing back then was illegal or at least the FDA wasn't aware of what was going on. Not the kind of thing you tell the all American boy." _

_Max groaned, "Why did you just describe Lydecker as the All-American Boy?"_

Max's annoyance at having to see the pre-Manticore version of Lydecker only grew as they traveled to Toren, Oregon, not only the resting place of Lydecker's wife (Julia) and son (Matthew), but had been a family vacation spot for decades and had been the place Julia had been killed. This is where they meet Dorothy Woodrick who owns the local diner; she drops a cup seeing Max for the first time as she's reminded of Julia. She tells Max of Lydecker's past as she assumes Max is their daughter.

Logan uncovers the whole truth about the lies involving Julia Lydecker; Max however only knows bits and pieces. Max ditches Logan and goes to see Lydecker on her own after Logan uncovers his location.

_She changed the subject, "Why'd you say you wished me could take me away from Manticore?" _

_His answer was simple, "You kids deserved better." _

_"You didn't say kids, you said me." _

_He knew these were the last moments for honesty, probably the final weeks of his life; Manticore was looking for him, what point was there to lie anymore? "Max, you were always like my daughter, no blood relation to me, but my wife's eyes. Eyes I'd always expected to see in our daughter, when you were born and you opened your eyes," he took a moment before he continued, "I saw my son in that first moment; it took weeks for your eyes to darken to her shade." _

_"What about my name?" Max asked in a hushed whisper. _

_"I don't know how that happened." he shook his head, partly in shock that she knew, partly still in shock that it had happened. "You were so little, just a baby, how could I call you 452 when all you were was an infant. A little girl who looked like she was waiting for her parents to come take her home. _

_So one day when you wouldn't calm down, I said 'It's okay Maxie' as I lifted you up to my shoulder and you stopped. I'd tried every position to get you to quiet down, I'd paced, I'd rocked, but when you heard your name you stopped. I made sure I stopped calling you Maxie by the time you were 18 months, a normal child wouldn't remember anything before 3. There are rare memories in some children when they're two…At 18 months your brain isn't developed like it should be, even in you, that information should have been erased." _

_"Then I started calling myself Max" _

_He nodded, "I should have just taken you. I knew the first time I held you that you didn't belong there; there was something different in your eyes. All the other babies they could self soothe, you left them alone they stopped crying. You didn't, you needed to be held, but I just left you there." He wondered about the words coming out of his mouth, when was the last time he'd been this honest? It felt almost as if he had been drinking… _

Max returned home to the apartment and Logan and found out Sketchy's words were correct.

_"Woah, Max," Sketchy shook his head as he saw her walk into Jam Pony, "I would've hated being the guy taking you to the prom." _

_She looked at him confused, not shocking since this was Sketch and he had definitely taken one too many to the head, "What the hell are you talking about?" _

_"Your dad," he shook his head again, "scariest man I've ever seen." _

Logan is forced to tell her the truth after he finds out she simply left the information with Lydecker instead of telling him about it.

_"Max, she was a scientist who was manipulating genes. She was a woman who had lost her son to genetic disease. If you had that power, what would you do with it?" _

_Max shook her head; she wouldn't allow that thought to enter her mind. _

_"Max this isn't one those things you can ignore because it makes you uncomfortable. Max if you had lost a child like that what would you do?" _

_"Make a child that would never get sick." she whispered. _

_"You're why they killed her. I don't know why exactly, if she was refusing to part with the research or if it was that she refused to part with you. I finally got my hands on the employee list for Kleinfold, found one name that was on the same list as the one we found Hannah on." _

By the time Max makes it back to Lydecker's place he's gone, all he's left her is a stack of disks and keys to a safety despot box and a note only saying 'I'm sorry.'

_The box had contained everything he'd been before Manticore, before his wife died. Photo albums, scrap books, the medals he'd been awarded, the deed to the cabin in Toren, the life of her father, not the man who'd existed in his body afterwards. That was putting it too bluntly and _ _Logan__ told her that all the time, but it was all she could handle. The Donald Lydecker who had been trying to have another child with his wife was not the one who raised her that was clear in every single picture she saw of him, it was clear in the journals Julia had left, which Max still hadn't found the courage to read in full. In just under two years, she had only made it three years into the journals. There was one entry that remained in Max's mind though. It was shortly after the 17 year old girl, her mother had found out she was pregnant, she read it over and over again, it had reminded her of her final words with Lydecker. _

_'I guess one day you're going to be reading this, you or your siblings. I don't know how this all is going to have turned out; I don't know if Deck and I will fall victim to the statistics, if we'll fail. I doubt it just because of how stubborn he is, but I don't know what lays ahead for us, for you. We're doing things out of order, I'm sorry you're not coming into a perfect world, but I've got to believe everything's going to be alright. Even if it's not, I know we'll have tried our hardest and they'll be good memories to go along with the bad. I'm pretty sure the good's gonna outweigh the bad, even though things seem pretty scary right about now. Even if it doesn't though, at least we were in it together. Can't worry too much about tomorrow right? Today, right here and now that's the only thing we're guaranteed.' _

Lydecker had fallen off the face of the earth after finding out the truth. Max only knew bits and pieces, knew that he'd survived the immediate fall out of what was going on with Manticore since he'd sent her the name of a doctor to remove her implant a month after she'd seen him. He'd also exposed Kleinfold for their illegal activities, but hadn't succeeded into toppling Manticore along with them. That's how the story was left and now we're going back in time to that fateful day two days after Max had left the documents leading Lydecker to the truth.

-o-o-o-

**I hope you enjoy and wow that was a long sum up, but summing without the quotes would have been boring. Gotta try to make it a little interesting. Let me know what you think, don't forget my disclaimer at the start :-D Thanks for reading! **

_

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_

**Chapter Twenty Two**

_ Frozen Memories_

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August 2020: 

Icy blues eyes as cold as steel without even the barest hint of fire were awaiting Harry Lever as he walked into his den. He realized seeing them that the shiver that had coursed through his body as he left the heat of the August day and entered his air conditioned house hadn't been a shiver of relief, it had been one of his doom.

He always knew his fate if Don found out. They had promised him his safety, promising to eliminate the other man if it became necessary. They had both been important to Manticore, but if the truth ever came out Donald Lydecker would go from being vital to its biggest threat. Manticore would falter without him, but at least it would go on.

He'd experienced this feeling of doom once before as the rumors had been floating around that last week of May. He was probably the only person in the entire country that had felt relief as instead the country came tumbling down around them like a house of cards. The greatest act of terrorism the world had ever seen had saved his life. He'd realized in that week that those above him would sacrifice him first instead of preemptively taking out their golden boy. He was only a scientist in their swarm of scientists; Donald Lydecker had been a leader. The fact that twelve had escaped that night in February and had avoided every single person they'd ever sent after them had proven that Deck had done what he'd set out to do. He'd created the best soldiers the world had ever seen.

And he, Harry Lever had killed that man's wife.

He was a dead man walking.

It still didn't stop that basic instinct to try to survive.

His eyes betrayed him as he tried to gauge his distance to the panic button, since trying to get the gun within his top drawer was futile. If he could keep him talking though-

"Don't bother, I disabled it," even his voice was cool as he was leaned back in the brown leather armchair, the gun casually resting in his hand on the arm rest. "Why don't you have a seat?" he didn't bother gesturing with the gun, actions like that were just gratuitous, totally unwarranted and excessive, his head made only the slightest gesture instead to the seat opposite of him.

Everything within Harry told him to run, but his 67 year old scientist frame was no match against Deck's, he'd seen the younger man go up against soldiers less than half his age at Manticore and come out the victor.

So he moved into the matching chair and waited, refusing to plead for his life; his life was ending, he refused to lose his dignity in these final moments in any acts of futile desperation because he knew they would be futile.

"She respected you, almost worshipped you," Lydecker said with no need to elaborate. They both knew who he was talking about, Julia Lydecker who had met Dr. Harry Lever her second year in college as she was already in an upper level genetics seminar. She had quickly proven herself his star pupil and he had talked her into lessening her course load that summer and taking an internship at Kleinfolds, he'd even talked those above him into allowing her son into their daycare so she could see him throughout the day as she'd done in school. He'd had her in a paying position before she'd even graduated college, made it so she didn't need anymore scholarships to continue the education he knew she barely needed, the company had willingly paid for it as she proved herself quickly.

"And I loved her like a daughter," he responded.

The briefest of fire flashed behind the blue eyes and Harry was made aware that there was no truth the other man didn't know. His mind returned to that day over twenty years ago, finding Deck in his office stacks of resumes on his desk as always as they were constantly adding to the doctors, nurses, caregivers, psychiatrists, and psychologists to shape and care for the young minds they were creating in addition to the soldiers and officers they were slowly recruiting for the day their young soldiers were ready to truly begin on their path. There were also specs for the base, along with enough literature to even make a geneticist flinch, but Donald Lydecker never did anything half assed, ever the Boy Scout and always prepared.

He hadn't been looking at any of that stuff though, instead in his hand had been a picture of her... The eyes that had looked up at him already harshly lined by the loss and the hard living that had followed, looking decades older his thirty. Harry had remembered in that moment meeting him for the first time…

Leaving his TAs in charge of supervising the test as he'd gone out to get coffee, the younger man with the light brown crew cut, dressed simply in jeans wearing a band tee, the name his mind could no longer recall, so at odd with excess that was still so prevalent, that along with the muscular nature of the other man immediately informed him the young man had to be from the base not too far from there. He'd been sitting on the floor legs stretched out with a young child less than a year who just barely had more hair than his father, a child's book discarded to the side of them.

Blue eyes had looked up at the opening of the door before returning to his son.

'Are you waiting for someone?' his mind could hear his words as clearly as he'd said them over three decades earlier.

The eyes had looked up again, 'My wife, we're a little early.'

'And your wife is?'

'Julia Lydecker,' the young man had said.

Harry had hated the other man on sight with those few words, they weren't even a month into class and it was their first test, but he had seen her potential. She never raised her hand to answer a question, but always had the answer when he'd randomly call on people, in a sea of confused students she'd only ask questions that went into graduate level course work; on more than a few occasions she'd stumped even him.

The man and child before him then had instantly clarified his confusion and annoyance as to why he could never talk to her for more than a few minutes after class, why'd she'd been absent at more than a few classes. Not that attendance was necessary and he'd known more than a few of his students paired up and exchanged notes, but the realization that she had turned into one of those students had saddened him.

He had been sure that the man before him was going to destroy her potential. He had been positive in that moment that her life would turn out to be mediocre compared to what it could be. He had been wrong though as he'd been going to enter the grades his TAs had calculated he had seen hers, he could still remember it, a 93. She not only skewed the curve, she'd destroyed it, on a test where the average had always been in the sixties, she'd gotten the highest grade by 9 points, the grade below her had been earned by the girl whose notes she used and had apparently studied with.

He realized soon after that she simply absorbed knowledge like a sponge; she had an intensity in class and in her studies that he had frequently seen in his own studies. She should have been at an Ivy, but instead that husband child that he had originally resented had done him the biggest favor and brought someone like her into his life.

She had become his muse, she inspired him to levels he'd known he'd never reach without her. At a time when others her age were bemoaning everything and living meaningless lives she had been spectacular.

Loss had propelled her to heights he hadn't imagined, like a physicist, she'd soared at such an early age before her mind was held back by the limitations of the world. She'd manipulated his studies, his research and that of others into something viable; she bridged that final gap in the research.

He had never expected to be the person who had stunted her from reaching her potential. He had though, just a month after he'd taken her out for her twenty seventh birthday, he had. He'd pleaded, begged, tried to coerce, it hadn't worked though. He could easily claim the research as his own; easily pass it along, but not without her exposing him. In the end he had seen no other choice and now thirty years later he knew his time had come to pay the price.

That man before him now who had sat behind his desk looking at the picture of the woman that he had taken from this world, _'I miss seeing her. Beauty like that…_' The other man's voice had trailed off in a weakness he wouldn't have shown to anyone except for him. He was often found behind his desk looking at her picture, he had found he could no longer easily look into a picture of his son as more children were joining the ranks, but no one realized that, most forgot in time that there had ever even been a picture of a young child on his desk. It had been removed from his file by those above him who didn't wish anyone to question his suitability for the role he was born for.

There hadn't been many changes needed to be made in the embryo she had created and Deck had gotten to see into her eyes again.

Harry realized this was his own fault, he'd been foolish…selfish…there were a whole list of adjectives to describe his actions. He had felt guilty, been guilty and he too had missed her so he created 452 and never told anyone the truth about her. He was going to die now because of a girl who was supposed to have called him uncle; life was full of unexpected twists.

"Why?" asked the man holding the gun.

"It was business Deck," was all he said.

Almost thirty five years of being a military man was the only thing that not only kept Lydecker from killing him in that moment, but prevented even his hand from tightening around the gun. "She was innocent," he paused, "she didn't deserve…" his voice trailed off, she'd had no childhood, she'd killed for the first time at eight. "She didn't deserve any of what we forced upon her."

"They were always children Don," Harry shook his head, "we knew that going in."

"My daughter, that makes things a little different." Blue eyes looked hard into gray, "You were by my side as I buried my son."

"And I gave you another child," he supplied.

Lydecker shook his head for that ever so slightly as he scoffed, "You killed my wife and took my child."

"I did what you asked; she would still be frozen if it weren't for me."

Lydecker knew he was right, he had thought briefly once or twice about what had happened to the embryos that had remained after Julia's first and only IVF had failed, but he would have never done anything about them even if they had been left in the storage facility as he'd assumed they had been until he unearthed his wife's ever meticulous records before coming here, which informed him they'd been moved shortly after Matthew's death. He would have never risked going through that again, especially not without her. "Why?" he asked again.

"I thought she would have gone with me," the man answered honestly, "she hated the military, wanted you home." She couldn't do it though, almost talked her into it a few times, but she'd told him in no uncertain terms in those final weeks she wouldn't allow him to do it either. Deck had returned home and his normally hardcore scientist had fallen back into the role of happy housewife with thoughts of motherhood on her brain. _If only the other man had stayed gone…_He probably could have talked her into it.

"So you killed her," he said still trying to understand it.

"I went to talk to her again," he nodded, "things got out of hand."

_'Out of hand?'_ His mind repeated the words remembering coming home, calling out her name as he walked in with his friend, Frank, to warn her that wasn't alone, that he was joined by the man who'd picked him up early that morning since he hadn't wanted to leave her stranded at the cabin since they'd driven out together. They'd come in through the back door, entering in the kitchen so as to avoid traipsing in any dirt and fish smells.

The cabin was small, so he hadn't need to walk far to find her, just the other room. She'd been half in the living room, half in the entry way, she'd been running, trying to get out of the house. An end table had been knocked over, a lamp smashed; she'd grabbed the cordless off the desk as she ran past it. Her attacker had caught up to her though as she reached the arch between the rooms, her head had been cracked into the frame, they said she'd lost consciousness then, her attacker had finished her off by strangling her.

Her attacker, not that vagabond he'd caught up to, her mentor, her friend. He'd always been haunted by how afraid she must have been, caught off guard alone in their house, the terror she'd lived through in those final moments. He couldn't have even imagined what it must have been like to realize someone she thought loved her had been the one trying to hurt her.

He raised the gun up at that point and barely heard the "I'm sorry" of the other man, didn't see his face, saw hers…Saw her cold limp body cradled in his arms, her eyes forever shut. He didn't feel the trigger beneath his touch before he stood and walked past the other man's now dead body and back out into the unnatural sunshine, all his mind saw was her. Her in that last moment and all the emptiness and despair that still accompanied him twenty five years later.

_

* * *

_

**There's one more part coming. I decided to break it up since this was already finished and it was a decent length. Next part's in the future and stars our favorite heroine. **


	23. Unfinished Business

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**Unfinished Business**

* * *

  


Toren, Oregon -- August 19th 2023

At eleven months Samantha Bridget Cale was the apple of her father's eye, who did as he expected and pushed him to the brink every single day, especially since she'd inherited her mother's coordination and refused to always fall after a few steps like most children her age.

She was Sam because her mother refused to give her daughter a girly name, her father liked it though because it meant 'listener to god,' which part of him hoped meant he had a shot in hell of her behaving, but also because god must have been listening or watching him to send someone like her mother into his life.

She was Bridget, which meant strong after more than a few kicks not only woke up her mother from a deep sleep but her father as well.

She was the person Max had come home to find sitting in her high chair last week as Logan had been bent over pointing at his head. Pointing at an alleged gray hair as her grubby little hands were outstretched attempting to remove not only that hair but several others nearby.

Logan stayed home with her as Max worked, though with shorter hours. She'd tried staying home, but they'd both been home together 24/7 from the time she'd been five months pregnant to when their daughter had been 9 weeks. Rather than kill each other, especially since Max had boundless amounts of energy which generally resulted in more than the occasional flare up between them, Max had returned to work on a part time schedule, adding days as she grew increasingly sure her husband and daughter were fine on their own, though there were days like the gray hair day that she questioned that.

Right now though Samantha Bridget Cale had absolutely no problem playing the role of an angelic princess as Dorothy ooh and awed over the short ash blonde hair that curled at the end and hazel eyes. Having no problem being admired for her beauty and intelligence, she'd awed Dorothy with more than the normal, Ma, Da, and bah. Leaving Max to wonder (not for the first time), if maybe she shouldn't have fallen for someone a little more average like Charlie because at least Case hadn't been noticeably more intelligent until he'd reached school. Sam had not only started walking early, but talking early; one might be common, but not both. Logan's baby book had informed her he'd always been an overachiever and her brother's had him walking early, pair those two with whatever they did to her and she was well aware her daughter was always going to be extraordinary. At least her words were still simple and until you were around her enough to realize how many she actually knew they didn't seem that uncommon.

Max had been sitting there underneath the pictures of a family she had never known with the family she'd somehow managed to luck into having. She still had a grandmother out there somewhere, an odd thought for someone who had thought for her entire life that she was no more than bits and pieces meshed together. Sometimes Max wondered if she should find her, find the woman who along with her husband had disowned the woman who was biologically her mother when they'd learned of her brother.

Lydecker's own mother had joined his father up in that small graveyard in town when Lydecker had been around the age she'd been when she found out about him, he'd lost his final parent at a time when she'd found out she actually had one. She hadn't gained a family with the knowledge of being more than just an experiment, she'd gained a history though, a past. _A pretty good one too, at least on paper._

Lydecker's family was solid and true, unwavering in their loyalty to their country and apparently each other; they'd lived a comfortable existence, the remains of which had been passed along to her in that safety deposit box. Julia's family had been the kind she could have told the Cales about if she ever actually wanted to please them. Upper class, though well below the Cale's class, highly educated, her father had been a successful surgeon, she had two brothers, one went on to be a lawyer, studying at Princeton, the other had followed in his father's footprints. Max had actually smiled realizing how much their daughter not only falling in love with someone like Lydecker must have upset them, but getting pregnant before she ever even started college. Odd though to realize she'd not only had things like grandparents, but she had present tense cousins. That was just biology she reminded herself, her family was still the only family she'd ever known, her siblings scattered around the country and she'd happily joined Logan and their daughter to the top of that family.

That's how she'd been sitting there halfway thinking about the past she'd been given three years ago as she and Logan had eaten lunch and she having far surpassed his consumption by finishing the entire potpie she'd been presented with, but topping it off with a slice of cherry pie a'la mode, losing less than a spoonful to her husband's taste. Thinking, but also admiring her daughter's beauty across the table as she sat in the booth happily in Dorothy's arms having absolutely no fear or hesitation when it came to strangers, not to mention the occasional sideway glance to admire her husband's beauty as well.

A reflection of the street in the mirrored sign on the wall shifted her interest, a black SUV had driven past, her confusion had been only momentary as she'd quickly shot up and out of her seat moving outside in time to see the SUV making a left after pausing at the stop sign.

"Hey," Logan said walking outside after her, "everything okay?"

"Uh, yea I think so," she nodded, doubting Manticore would be after her especially since they had been doing their best not to attract any attention after the scandal that had come with Kleinfolds, which had hinted at an even deeper scandal beneath the surface. "Take awhile going back to the cabin?" she nodded.

"Sure," he promised.

"Tell Dorothy I'm sorry, see ya in a few," she nodded again as she'd moved to kiss him goodbye just in case she was wrong.

-o-o-o-

She made her way up the hill at speeds which would cause anyone's mouth to drop in shock seeing her, though didn't even leave her the tiniest bit breathless. She slowed down to a quick walk as the church came into view, knowing the possibility of being seen increased.

She realized she was right, that six sense that had kicked in and made the hair on her arms stand up as she saw the SUV on the road, Manticore and Lydecker had been synonymous to her, but it was the latter of the two that was before her now.

She approached slowly never even thinking of turning away, backing down; she had run from him too many times. She flinched though as she stepped on a twig approaching the man who was doing nothing more than squatting down before his son's grave. His head turned instantly, his eyesight might have been subjected to the perils of age, but his ears and instincts hadn't yet followed that path.

"Surprising to see you here," he said as his head returned back to its original focus before he stood and turned to her.

"A house is still a house despite its previous owners," she stated her reasoning for returning to the property he'd left her.

"I heard about that garbage strike," he chuckled stating her main reason.

She didn't flinch, he'd trained her not to, there had been a reason they'd feared him like an all-knowing god.

"Nice work," he nodded in regards to the fact that Eyes Only had gotten involved, showed the corruption of not only the city officials, but the union leaders.

The problem was being Eyes Only's wife was while the rest of the Cales had retreated to the family cabin and surrounding areas, they'd stayed in the city. Of course it was going to take more than a few weeks to get rid of the smell of three weeks worth of garbage baking in the summer sun so instead of piling into the already crowded cabin Logan had talked her into traveling south to Toren once more since everything rentable close by had already been taken by well-to-dos from the city.

"He's good at what he does," she said simply.

"I know," he nodded.

Max smirked remembering just how many times Logan had gotten the one up on Lydecker.

Then the uncomfortable silence between them returned.

"Thought you were dead," Max blurted out and followed it up by inwardly cursing herself out.

"I should have been," he answered, before following it up with, "guess they weren't as good as I thought they were."

"Probably didn't hurt that they were trying to keep a low profile," she offered with attitude.

"Hmm," was all he offered as a reply.

Another uncomfortable silence.

"Did it help?" she asked with a nod to Julia's grave.

His eyes gave a slight look of confusion.

"Killing Harry Lever, made quite a few papers."

"Hmm," he murmured as he nodded thinking about it, "it didn't hurt."

Max's face almost betrayed her as she wondered if that was really all he was going to say regarding any of this, he owed her more, _didn't he get that?_

He turned, he could no longer look at Max and remain seemingly calm and unaffected, he turned and looked at Jules' grave. "Business," he began and then paused, "I asked him why and he said business," his voice betrayed how shocked he'd actually been by that word. Just as he'd been shocked that the man who had stood just feet away from where he was now as he'd buried both his son and wife had actually taken his wife from him, it took a lot to shock Donald Lydecker, but that had done it. Not that he really remembered his wife's funeral, but he knew the other man had been there. "Eight years," he found himself saying the length of time the two had known each other before 'business' had gotten in the way.

"Business, good of the country," she found herself making the comparison.

That knocked him out of his shocked state and into the all business man she was used to, he could have and had condoned his actions before. Millions had sacrificed themselves in various wars across time, sacrificed or had been sacrificed, Harry hadn't even used the lofty platitude he knew most at Manticore used, for Harry it had been business that had chilled even a hardened soldier like himself. Mostly because he knew nothing would have ever made him sacrifice his wife and daughter, yet the other man had. "I was wrong Max; you'll find that happens a lot in life. I made a decision and convinced myself it was for the best." That decision he'd wavered in making had grown in the passing years, each year growing stronger as that thought of they were just children had been pushed so far back he barely remembered thinking it. That had changed though, seeing her again, he remembered that feeling and went back to fighting it. He remembered finding it really hard though, not as he was using Case because he'd known the boy would be unharmed, but as Renfro's team had tried to take him too. The feeling of wondering 'what the hell he was doing' had returned just as intense as it had been in the beginning and he started to doubt all of his decisions.

"Wrong is blowing your rent money at the bar, not-" her voice abruptly cut off as she'd been about to say 'stealing childhoods,' but you couldn't steal something that would have never existed, "not what you did."

He nodded, "I know that and there's nothing I can do to change it, I'm sorry." He found himself repeating the words he'd left to her on that folder.

"You're sorry?" She repeated his words, _he was sorry? _

"What else do you want me to say Max?" he asked turning, though they both regretted not only having to see the other's face, but also that their own was now being seen. When she didn't say anything he continued on, "I should have taken you, but I didn't…I didn't know." He hadn't known why he'd always heard his mind urging him to sneak out with her in the middle of the night, so he'd ignored it and doing so left his daughter in there, kept her away from everything she'd deserved. He'd ignored the large brown eyes that would follow his path out of the room as she hold herself up on the side of her crib, the eyes that would remain locked on the door wondering why she was being left.

"And what if you had?" she found herself asking even though she hadn't meant to.

"What do you mean Max, do you want to know if I would have taken you to Brownies, soccer practice, the movies?"

His words were harsh, both of their words were harsh, but Max had already known the answer to that question, she'd known it the first moment she'd seen Lydecker with Matthew. The answer was yes, he would have done all those things and more that's what made the entire thing so cruel. He would have loved her and protected her as she loved her own daughter. "You would have," she heard her low voice as she saw his stunned expression and they stared at each other until she heard a car approach, the Aztek, she was used to its sound. She turned as she saw Logan pull into the spot just past the fence alongside Lydecker's ride.

She took a few steps forward as the door opened, he gave her a questioning look and she smiled to put him at ease.

"Figured I should come up make sure everything was alright," he said looking at her then nodded, "Lydecker."

" Logan," the older man returned the nod.

"Where's Sam?"

"Still with Dorothy," he said looking into his wife's eyes trying to make sure everything really was okay and she didn't need him. "I should probably get back down there," he paused, "I'll see you back at the cabin?"

She nodded and gave him another reassuring smile.

Logan gave a final nod to Deck and it was returned as he was getting back into the car.

They stood in silence once more as the Aztek pulled away and it disappeared down the road.

"Things are still going well," Lydecker commented.

Max nodded.

"You have a son?"

"A daughter," Max smiled gently at that as she always did.

"How old?" Lydecker questioned as her defenses were weak.

"She'll be a year next month," Max replied without emotion in her voice as the wall kicked back up.

His mind briefly struggled between finding out he was a grandfather and the ever present interest in science that had been instilled in him at Manticore, he wondered about her development, walking and talking. Case had been advanced intellectually, but that was no guarantee what would happen to other children, especially since they hadn't been able to duplicate the results. So he nodded, "Good age." He looked back down at the gray slab of stone with the baseball and bat engraved in the corner, "They're all good ages," he corrected.

The uncomfortable level rose even higher than before and Max realized she wanted out more than she wanted answers. After all what answers were there for him to give? He'd been the cruelest bastard ever, but would have adored her if he'd known. There were no answers for him to give, the past was over and they had no future. "I should get back," it was a valid statement anyway; it wasn't the chicken's way out. Sam's schedule was off; she was bound to be cranky as Logan tried to put her down, especially since they were in a new place.

He nodded and they both wondered what kind of goodbye was required by this situation. "Do you want a ride back?" he found himself asking.

She just looked at him.

"Dirt road," he supplied, "it rained the other day."

"Dirt road?" she asked.

"Connects Cutter…" his voice trailed off and he shook his head, "I'll show you, it saves you from having to go back into town from here."

"Thanks," she said hesitantly not at all meaning it.

He nodded and started walking to the black SUV that had started this all.

-o-o-o-

Most would assume that the ten minute drive in complete silence aside would have been uncomfortable, but both were aware talking would have made it even more uncomfortable. They arrived at the small secluded house before Logan, not surprising since he'd had to return to town for Sam.

Max inwardly groaned, Logan always found the right words to say in any situation, he was bred and reared for uncomfortable situations. She however was used to a witty remark, which didn't really seem appropriate as he switched the gear to park.

"You're going to have to get that tree cut," he said pointing to a limb growing close to the roof, "winters here can get pretty bad, might end up in your bedroom if you don't."

She nodded, "I'll take care of it before we leave."

"It's in the basement not the shed," he supplied in case she hadn't thoroughly explored the house.

She nodded.

"Might as well fix that gutter while you're at it," he said leaning in slightly closer at her as he dropped his head to the side looking up at the house.

Max's brows furrowed, _why did she suddenly feel like a little kid? _Then she realized it was even worse than that, she felt like a normal kid. She just nodded.

"Should probably check out the stones in the back before you let Sam run around, they have a tendency of lifting," he nodded knowing from personal experience.

" Logan already noticed one loose this morning, cement's in the car."

"When'd you get here?"

"Around eleven this morning, we made good time."

He nodded, "The roads are getting a lot easier to travel."

Max smiled, " Logan says the depression starting to lift." _Small talk, they could handle small talk. _

"Thanks to people like Logan," his words were true as it always was it was the actions of a few that helped the many. Corruption was down, unsolved crimes were not only down, but as were crimes themselves, unemployment the lowest they'd seen since the Pulse had hit, the country was slowly, but finally starting to crawl out of the black hole it had been plunged into.

That personalized it too much again, "Projections say in another ten years it should be over." That always struck her as odd, how they could say things like that, she got the science of it all how they read the data, what it told them, but for them to say something like that…

"And another twenty for the country to be weak again."

_'In a way, the pulse had some positive aspects. Toughen the world…strengthen the species,'_ he'd said those words to her when he didn't know who she was. "Personally, I'm looking forward to carpools to soccer practice…Hey maybe even art school, Sam's certainly one up on Pollack." She was aware Sam wouldn't have the picture perfect childhood that Logan had, that kids in just a few more years would have. The depression was receding, but it wasn't over and the US wasn't going to magically return to being a superpower overnight and that's if they ever could. The country had a long road ahead of it to even be just a fraction of what they once were.

The attitude and animosity between the two of them both put them more at ease, "I never understood modern art."

_Join the club,_ "I don't think you're supposed to." She thought for another second before speaking again, "Sam's probably more Creative Writing or Journalism, she has Logan's flair for words."

"At eleven months?"

_Crap, Lydecker questioning that really did mean her daughter was more than just slightly amazing. _"She's rather gifted."

"Good thing Manticore's too busy trying to hold on to their funding to look for you kids."

"Are they going to be successful?" She asked part for her own knowledge since Logan and Sebastian could only find out so much, part for her siblings so she could pass the information back through Zack, part out of guilt for all those they'd left behind including their sister.

He shook his head, "Too much has happened Manticore is no longer a viable option, fiscally unsound."

"What's going to happen to them?"

"They'll be integrated into special divisions of the military. Aside from that I don't know. The technology should start appearing in the mainstream in a few years, to recap some of the loses."

"So Logan…"

"One day, quite possibly," he answered, "should do a lot for the entire medical field."

They both turned as they heard the car approaching amazed they'd actually managed to sit and talk to each other. She stepped out of the truck as the car started to pull into the driveway, Lydecker did the same.

Logan looked puzzled as he looked up at them, then flinched as Sam let out another scream.

Max's gaze transferred from her husband to her daughter, instantly panicked that something was wrong she opened the door and was asking that very question as she started to undo the buckles, "What's wrong?"

"Please tell me you carried George inside of the house," he said referring to the small Curious George Original Cindy had given the little girl. "Hi again," he nodded to Lydecker who had come around the SUV to see Max lifting the little girl into her arms.

Lydecker nodded as he took in the little girl who looked as he'd often imagined a daughter of his own would look, the female version of his son, _his granddaughter._

"It's in the diaper bag," Max said in between coos to the little girl as she rubbed her back.

"No it's not, Dorothy and I both checked."

"We had it when we stopped," Max said pointing out the obvious knowing her daughter had been loaded into the car with the brown monkey in her arms and it had been stuffed into the diaper bag as Max had gone to change her daughter's diaper in the small restroom. She groaned realizing her daughter had probably pulled the animal out of the bag as she and Logan had been drinking their coffee in the outside area, but had probably dropped it as she often did at their apartment before her mother had caught up to her and returned her to the table.

"Yea," Logan said realizing she'd come to the same conclusion that he had.

"It's not there anymore is it?" Max asked with a pout, knowing lunch hour had come and gone and most likely so had the monkey.

"Probably not"

"Geor," her daughter cried burying herself into her mother's shoulder.

"Maybe I should go look anyway," she said as she rubbed her daughter's back.

"It's two hours away," Logan reminded.

She was about to point out the fact that four hours out of her life were nothing in comparison to the misery her daughter could easily create for days missing the creature. She didn't get a chance to speak though.

"Maybe there's something in the basement that can replace him," Lydecker said and Max was reminded for the first time since hearing her daughter's cried that he was still there.

Sam's cries quieted as she was confronted with a new person who she looked up at with interest.

With all heads turned to him he spoke again, "I know Matthew had those books when he was younger, I don't know what's out here though."

"Worth a try," Logan said speaking since he wasn't too sure Max was going to. He'd seen the storage containers full of kids toys and books, another of bedding, tucked away by the larger toys in the corner of the basement the last time they were here, he never expected to go through them again though.

-o-o-o-

"And I think we have a keeper," Logan said as he was now holding his daughter since Max had switched off to recheck the car and the house just in case they were wrong about the monkey's location.

He and Lydecker watched her for another moment to see if the small white rabbit was just taking longer in joining the other toys she'd looked at with interest for a only a moment because they were new before discarding them to the floor.

"I think you may be right," Lydecker said with a nod before he turned his attention to returning the unwanted toys to the box amazed at how well everything had held up in the plastic boxes. When he'd packed them up he'd always expected to do something with them, he'd just quickly stored them away here as he'd done at their house to get them out of Julia's sight after finding her curled on their son's bed one too many times clutching something of his.

"Sam come on, let me wash it first"

Lydecker turned in time to see the long floppy white ear being pulled out of Sam's mouth. He chuckled, "Good thing her immune system is better than most kids her age."

Logan gave him an exhausted look at that statement, he really wouldn't mind the Manticore presence being slightly less obvious in their daughter, a little fear didn't seem so bad when constantly being surrounded by fearless females, he'd definitely take it in exchange for an ear infection.

"Hmm," he murmured aloud realizing something, "Julia kept trying to get Matthew to like that thing."

"Why?"

Lydecker shook his head, "I think she had one like it when she was little. Matt was never a fan of stuffed animals," the cocky proud papa kicked, "slept with a GI Joe by the time he was Sam's age," he smiled at the little girl as he said her name, she smiled back. "Jules was petrified he'd poke his eye out."

"I don't hear any crying, does that mean you found something?" Max called out walking down the stairs.

"At least for the moment," Logan said turning in time to see her way though the doorway as Lydecker shifted to re-cover the box.

"Cute bunny," Max said flicking the ear. "Thanks," she nodded towards Lydecker.

"Not a problem." He cleared his throat a second later, "I should probably get going, I wanted to make it to California by nightfall."

Max just nodded and that was it.

* * *

**AN: Um okay that actually is it, didn't turn out the way I envisioned it, but that is the end. Thanks for reading.**  



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